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MEMOIRS 



OF THE 



KEY. WALTER M. LOWRIE, 



MISSIONARY TO CHINA 



EDITED BY HIS FATHER. 






PHILADELPHIA: 
PRESBYTERIAN BOAI^D OF PUBLICATION 

No. 265 Chestnut Street. IffLf , 



vk i> As 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1854, by 

A. W. MITCHELL, M. D., 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court, for the Eastern District of 
Pennsylvania. 

Jesper Harding, Stereotyper, 
Philadelphia. 



CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER I. 

FEBRUARY, 1819— JANUARY, 1842. 

EARLY LIFE — COURSE AT COLLEGE — COURSE IN THE THEOLOGICAL SEMI- 
NARY — ACCEPTED AS A FOREIGN MISSIONARY — SAILS FOR CHINA. 

LETTERS. 

PAGE. 

To his Father, Duty as to Foreign Missions — The Question De- 
cided — through College, Grade. To John Lloyd, College times — 
Swartz. Comfort in Christ — To his Mother, daily employments 
— To John Lloyd, personal religion. Love of Christ. Missions. 
Western Africa. India. China — To John M. Lowrie — Study of 
the Bible. To John Lloyd, studies. Works of God. To his 
Mother, Journey West — Executive Committee. Missions — To his 
Mother, the country. Journey. To his Father, change of field 
to China — To his Mother, flowers. Niagara. Missions. Journey 
West. To Wm. H. Hornblower, presence of Christ. To John 0. 
Procter, on leaving for China — To John Lloyd, feelings, faith — 
To John M. Lowrie, on the eve of sailing. 9 

CHAPTER II. 

JANUARY 19— MAY 27, 1842. 

VOYAGE TO CHINA — JOURNAL IN THE HUNTRESS. 

Parting from friends — Sea sickness — a Gale — Pleasant days — 
Sermon on board — Wisdom of God — Stars — Trade winds — the 
Sabbath — a Shark — Birth- day — Sunsets — the Sailmaker — Stars 
— Magellan clouds — Missions — the Ocean — Home — a Gale — Alba- 
tross — a Ship — Trade winds — Sabbath — Preaching to Sailors — 

3 



CONTENTS. 



pxoe. 



Rain — Sea Gnats — Thunder — Heathen — Ships — Angier — Learned 
Sailor — China Sea, — Gales — China — To his Mother, with his 
journal. 52 

CHAPTER III. 

1842. 

LANDING IN CHINA — VOYAGE IN THE SEA QUEEN — SHIPWRECK IN THE 
HARMONY — RETURN TO MACAO. 

To his Mother, Macao. Hong Kong — To John Lloyd, Mission to 
China — To his Mother, China Sea — Journal — Embarks — Lascars 
— Alone — Calms — Monsoon — Currents — Gale — Delays — Cm-rents 
— Storms — Faith — Providence — the Parting — Scenes in Manilla 
— To his Brother, Voyage on the China Sea — Shipwreck in the 
Harmony — To his Father, first Letter from Home — To his Mother, 
Letters from Home — To James Lenox, Romanists in China — 
To his Father, early Instruction — To John Lloyd, Missions in 
China. 98 

CHAPTER IV. 

1843. 

RESIDENCE IN MACAO — VOYAGE UP THE COAST — AMOY AND CHANG-CHOW — 
RETURN TO MACAO. 

LETTERS AND JOURNALS. 

To his Mother, Home. Heaven. Sabbath — To John Lloyd, Chinese 
Language — To his Father, effects of Heat — Preaching — Chinese 
Dictionary — Journal to Amoy and Chusan. Opium — Infanticide 
— Grave of Mrs. Boone — Monsoon — Kulangsu — Budhist Temple 
— River — Chang-Chow — Mandarins — the City — Bridges — Tem- 
ples — Villages — Multitudes — Chobey — Haetang — Return to Amoy 
— Remarks — Return to Macao — Storm — Danger — Good News 
from Home — Death of Rev. Mr. Dyer — To Society of Inquiry, 
"Western Theological Seminary — To his Mother, Chinese Customs 
— Society of Inquiry, Princeton Theological Seminary. To his 
Father, Sir Henry Pottinger's censure. 164 



CONTENTS. O 

CHAPTER V. 

1844. 

RESIDENCE IN MACAO — CHINESE PRINTING WITH METAL TYPE — ARRIVAL 
OF NEW MISSIONARIES — THEIR FIELDS OF LABOUR. 

LETTERS. 

PAGE. 

To bis Mother, his Teacher. Idolatry — To his Father, Chinese 
Language — To John Lloyd, Christian friendship — To his Father, 
to visit China — a Solemn Question by his Teacher — Recollections 
of a Missionary— To Rev. John M. Lowrie, English Preaching — 
To Rev. James Montgomery, trials. 221 

CHAPTER VI. 

1845. 

DIFFERENT MISSIONS ESTABLISHED — LEAVES MACAO VOYAGE UP THE 

COAST — NINGPO. 

LETTERS AND JOURNALS. 

To his Father, leaves Macao — Voyage up the Coast — Changes — 
Sailors — Shanghai— Chusan — Books injured — Ningpo — Idol wor- 
ship — Festival — Proverbs — Monks — To Mrs. Hepburn, Love of 
Christ — To his Father, Ningpo — To his Mother, Psalm xxv — To 
his Father, various Thoughts — Visit to Teentung — Visit to 
Pootoo — Females — To Society of Inquiry, Princeton Theological 
Seminary — To his Father, Chinese ignorance. 240 



CHAPTER VII. 

1846. 

MISSIONARY LABOURS AT NINGPO — HEATHEN CUSTOMS — SUPERSTITIOUS 
FEARS — PREACHING IN CHINESE. 

LETTERS AND JOURNALS. 

To his Mother, deaths, New Year — To John Lloyd, Chinese tones — 
To his Father, heat, teachers — To his Brother, superstitions — 
To his Father, Shangte, Shin— To his Mother, reminiscences— 



6 CONTENTS. 

FAGS. 

To his Father, Chinese Dictionary— To James Lenox, music, cuts, 
return of Missionaries. To John Lloyd, religion — Journal, fear 
of Evil Spirits — Earthquake — Cruelty — Chinese audience. 302 

CHAPTER VIII. 

1847. 

MISSIONARY LABOURS AT NINGPO — VOYAGE TO SHANGHAI — MANCHU LAN- 
GUAGE — CHINESE TRANSLATION OF THE BIBLE — IMPORTANCE OF SELECT- 
ING PROPER TERMS — DEATH AND CHARACTER. 

LETTERS AND JOURNALS. 

To his Brother, Chinese Language — To his Mother, labours, loneli- 
ness — Minutes of the General Assembly, 1846 — To his Father, 
Translation of the Bible — Journal, preaching — Labours — Chinese 
Language — Worship of Ancestors — To his Father, Bible transla- 
tion, dictionary — To his Brother, translation of the word God — 
To his Father, Manchu language — To Joseph Owen, translations 
— Letters from A. W. Loomis — Bishop Boone — John Lloyd — 
Joseph Owen — John M. Lowrie — Remarks by Dr. Alexander. 349 



PREFACE 



This edition of the Memoir of the Rev. Walter 
M. Lowrie is made up of a selection from the letters 
and journals printed in the larger editions of the 
same work. The plan adopted was to let him speak 
for himself in his letters and journals, and the edi- 
tor has done little more than to select and arrange 
the papers of his beloved son. A few remarks 
have been made with the view of noticing his early 
years, and connecting the different periods of his 
short but active and not unvaried life. 

His letters, for the most part, were hastily written, 
many of them in the confidence of Christian and 
endeared friendship. His journals also were writ- 
ten at the dates mentioned, and his other engage- 
ments gave him no time to correct and copy them. 

(7) 



MEMOIR. 
CHAPTER I. 

February 1819.— January 1842. 

Early Life — Course at College — Course in the Theological Seminary — 
Accepted as a Foreign Missionary — Sails for China — Letters, &o. 

Walter Macon Lowrle, the third son of Walter 
and Amelia Lowrie, was born in Butler, Penn., on 
the 18th of February, 1819. Until his eighth year, 
his father was absent from home during the winter 
months. This left the principal part of his early 
training and education to his excellent mother, and 
well and faithfully did she perform this responsible 
and sacred trust. From his infancy he possessed a 
mild and cheerful temper. He was a general fav- 
ourite with his playmates, and always ready to 
engage in the usual sports of the play-ground. It 
was often the subject of remark, that he was never 
known to get into a quarrel, or even an angry dis- 
pute with his associates. To his parents he was 
always obedient and kind, open and ingenuous; he 
was never known to use deception or falsehood. 
His brothers and sisters shared his warmest affection 
and love, and his time with them seemed to be made 
up of pure enjoyment. 

At an early period he was sent to school, where 
he learned the usual branches of a common English 
education. It was soon perceived by his teachers, 
that it required but little effort on his part to get 



10 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

the lessons assigned to him; and the place he 
usually occupied was at the head of the class. In 
his tenth year his parents removed to Washington 
city, and for a part of the year he was taught by 
his father in the higher rules of arithmetic, in geo- 
graphy, and ancient and modern history. In his 
eleventh and twelfth years, he spent two terms 
under an able teacher in a classical grammar school. 

At this period the health of his beloved mother 
was gradually declining, and her physicians advised 
that she should spend the summers in Pennsylva- 
nia, and the winters in Washington. In these 
circumstances it was deemed best that Walter, 
although not fourteen years of age, should be sent 
to Jefferson College. Two of his brothers had 
already graduated at that college, and his father 
was well acquainted with the president and the 
professors. A home was found for him in the 
family of the Rev. Professor Kennedy, who watched 
over him with a parent's care. The same month in 
which he reached the college, in November, 1832, 
he received the sad intelligence of his dear mother's 
death. Most deeply did he feel this severe bereave- 
ment, and bitterly did he mourn over the loss of 
one so very dear to him. The account of her calm 
and peaceful departure, full of faith and trust in 
her Saviour, which he soon afterwards received, 
whilst it made a deep impression on his mind, tended 
much to relieve the bitterness of his grief. After 
spending a year in the preparatory department, he 
entered the freshmen class in October, 1833, and 
continued in the college, with some interruptions 
for relaxation, till he graduated in September, 1837. 

In the summer of 1834, he was at home from 
the first of August till the last of October. His 
father was somewhat apprehensive in regard to his 
health, and believed that some relaxation from his 
studies would be of service, even if it should 
require him to spend another year in the college. 
He retained his place in the class, however, and 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 11 

kept up with the usual studies without difficulty. 
The family were then spending the summer in 
Butler. Here he first met with his second mother, 
and he seemed almost at once to transfer to her the 
affection he had entertained for his own mother. 
Nor was this a transient feeling. His affection and 
deep respect and esteem for her continued till his 
lamented death, as the letters and journals addressed 
to her will abundantly show. 

During this visit he accompanied his parents and 
one of his brothers, and a sister in declining health, 
to the falls of Niagara. He greatly enjoyed the 
company of his friends on this journey, and was 
filled with wonder and awe at the stupendous dis- 
plays of God's power in this mighty cataract. He 
accompanied the family to Washington, and was 
present at the calm and peaceful death of his be- 
loved sister, in the last of September, 1834. In 
November he returned to the college, his health 
much improved by his temporary absence. 

Soon after his return, that seminary and the 
neighbourhood were blessed with a precious and 
powerful revival of religion. Many of the students 
in the college, and large numbers in the congrega- 
tions of that region, were added to the church. 
Most of these students afterwards entered the 
ministry. The history of this revival and its sub- 
sequent results, if they were written, would show 
how important a period of life is the college course 
of every student. Probably the attention and the 
prayers of the church have been too little turned 
towards her young men in the different colleges. 
The remark will be generally found true, that "as 
is the piety of the student in college, so will it be 
in the theological seminary, and in the ministry." 

In this revival, after a time of deep conviction 
of sin, he obtained a hope of peace with God in 
the Saviour. He was then in his sixteenth year, 
and he gradually became more and more instructed 
in Christian experience and warfare. With a nuin- 



12 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

ber of the students who were admitted to full com- 
munion in the church at the same time, he formed 
a most endeared and lasting friendship, and with 
many of these he kept up a correspondence till his 
death. 

On leaving college, the subject of this memoir 
returned home, his father's family then residing in 
the city of New York. His expectation was to 
enter the Theological Seminary at Princeton soon 
after his return. The Seminary year, however, 
commenced in September, when the regular classes 
were formed ; and his father, still somewhat solici- 
tous respecting his health, deemed it best that he 
should have a recess from study ; and he spent the 
winter at home. Having few acquaintances in the 
city, his winter's residence at home was a season of 
retirement and quiet, and his time was profitably 
employed in reviewing his previous studies, and in 
miscellaneous reading. He had also a good oppor- 
tunity of improvement in vocal music, under the 
able instructions of Mr. Thomas Hastings. During 
the winter he took charge of a class of young men 
in the Sabbath-school, who became greatly attached 
to him, and were much benefitted by the care he 
bestowed on their instruction. 

In May, 1838, he entered the Seminary, and 
afterwards joined the regular class formed in Sep- 
tember following. In his whole course in the Semi- 
nary he pursued his studies very closely. He was 
never absent from a single recitation ; and with his 
studies, and other necessary duties, his time was 
fully employed. By persevering industry, he was 
able to superintend a Sabbath-school at Queenston, 
a few miles from the Seminary, and also to make a 
Catalogue of the books in the Library, and arrange 
them anew. 

Before leaving college, as is seen by his letters, 
he had fully decided to go as a missionary to the 
heathen, and during his last year in the Seminary, 
his mind was settled on Western Africa as his 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 13 

chosen field of labour. In December, 1840, lie was 
received as a missionary of the Board of Foreign 
Missions of the Presbyterian Church. No objec- 
tions to his preference for Africa were made by his 
friends, and for several months the question of his 
field of labour was considered as fully settled. In 
the spring and summer of 1841, however, the exi- 
gencies of the China mission induced the Executive 
Committee to review the question of his field of 
labour. The mission to China was then but com- 
mencing, and was encompassed with many difficul- 
ties. That great empire was at that time closed 
against the Christian missionary^; and Singapore 
had been selected as the most suitable place where 
the language of China could be learned, translations 
made into it, schools established, and other mission- 
ary work carried on. The Rev. John A. Mitchell, 
and the Rev. Robert W. Orr and his wife, had 
arrived at Singapore in April, 1838. In the follow- 
ing October, Mr. Mitchell was removed by death. 
The next year Mr. Orr's health failed; a visit to 
the Nilgerry Hills, in India, did not restore it; and 
in 1840, he set out on his return home. The same 
year, the Rev. Thomas L. McBryde and his wife 
reached Singapore; and in 1841, he was joined by 
J. C. Hepburn, M. D., and his wife. In one year, 
Mr. McBryde's health had declined so much, that it 
was evident he also must soon withdraw from that 
sphere of labour, and thus leave Dr. Hepburn alone 
in the China mission. In these circumstances, and 
having at that time no other suitable man to send, 
the question in the view of the Executive Com- 
mittee was clear, that China, and not Western 
Africa, was the proper field of labour for the new 
missionary. It was believed, also, that from the 
tone of his piety, his cheerful temper, his thorough 
education, his natural talents and untiring industry, 
he was peculiarly fitted for the China mission. It 
was, however, with many misgivings, and much 
reluctance at first, that he contemplated this change 

2 



14 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

in his field of labour; but as there was a perfect 
unanimity of sentiment in the Executive Committee, 
the professors in the Seminary at Princeton, and 
other ministerial brethren, all of whom he greatly 
respected, he yielded cheerfully to their judgment—- 
viewing these things as a call from God to labour 
in that great and destitute part of the Saviour's 
vineyard. 

On the 5th of April, he was licensed to preach 
the Gospel by the Second Presbytery of New York. 
After leaving the Seminary in May, he spent a few 
weeks at home, preaching on the Sabbath in differ- 
ent churches. In July and August he was sent by 
the Executiye Committee to the most distant land 
office in Michigan, to secure the pre-emption right 
to the mission station among the Chippewa Indians, 
as the government had advertised the Indian reser- 
vation for public sale. The sale, however, was 
Eostponed before he reached the land office, and on 
is return he spent some time among the churches 
in Western New York. Late in the autumn he 
visited his friends in Western Pennsylvania for the 
last time, and by these various journeys his health 
was much improved. 

He was ordained on the 9th of November, 1841, 
and on the evening of the last Sabbath of the same 
month, a deeply interesting farewell missionary 
meeting was held in the Brick church, New York. 
Addresses were made by the Rev. Gardiner Spring, 
D. D., pastor of the church, by the missionary, and 
by his father. These addresses would possess much 
interest now, but no copy of them was preserved. 
It was expected that the vessel would sail early in 
December, but she was delayed till January, and 
in the interval his time was chiefly spent at home. 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 15 



Jefferson College, March 10th, 1837. 

My Dear Father : — In my last letter I mentioned 
that as far as I could see, if nothing providential oc- 
curred, I had made up my mind on the question, 
" Should I become a missionary ?" It never seemed 
to present any great difficulty to my mind, and I don't 
know that I could give any particular account of the 
reasons, which led me to believe that it was duty on 
my part to spend my life among the heathen. The 
question always seemed, though a very important 
one, to be — Can I do more abroad than at home ? 
There were no providential hinderances to prevent 
me from going. Indeed Providence seemed rather 
to point to the heathen as the proper place. My 
own inclinations and feelings pointed the same way. 
If I have piety to fit me for being a minister at 
home, I might hope to have it for being a mission- 
ary abroad. Of my talents and qualifications for 
the work, others must judge. Almost the only 
difficulty was in regard to my health. My consti- 
tution being weak, it seemed almost unable to bear 
much fatigue; for even the labour of study is prey- 
ing on it in some degree. But though the case 
seemed so clear, do not think, dear father, that it 
was on account of my vanity that it appeared so. 
For almost always when the duty of being a mis- 
sionary appeared strongest, I felt my own strength 
or my own fitness to be least. And even now, 
when the troubles and deprivations and duties of 
missionary life come up to view, the question in- 
voluntarily occurs, "Who is sufficient for these 
things ?" Yet if I know my own heart, I am willing 
io live or die for the heathen. It is now nearly 
two months since I came to the determination ex- 
pressed above, and never yet has a single emotion 
of regret crossed my mind on account of it. Nay, 
a load has been thrown off, and I feel a deeper 
interest in everything that concerns the extension 
of the Redeemer's kingdom. Pray for me, dear 



16 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

father ; unless I have more piety than I now have, 
I am not fit for the missionary work, nor for the 
ministry at home. 

Your affectionate son, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



Pittsburgh, September 13th, 1837. 

My Dear Father — We finished our examination 
eight days ago, but I have been so busy, I have 
not had time to write to you. At the close of 
our examination, I expected to be told that I 
might have my Diploma, but further or higher, 
I had not directed my thoughts. Judge of my 
surprise then, when on the next morning, Dr. 
Brown gave me the enclosed as my standing.* 
I had never thought of standing more than respec- 
tably, but this grade is equivalent to what was 
once called the first honour. There were two 
others in the class who were marked equally high. 
I have been appointed Valedictorian, which is 
considered here the most important post at the 
Commencement. I hope, however, you will not 
consider me to be a very excellent scholar, on ac- 
count of the high standing I have with the Faculty. 
In languages especially, I do not consider myself to 
be much above mediocrity. 

As soon as Commencement is over, I shall set 
out for home. Though I should like very much to 
enter on the study of theology immediately, yet I 
do feel almost afraid to commence without a longer 
recess than common. During my collegiate course, 
I have not, on an average, studied three hours a day ; 
but at the Seminary, I would wish — indeed, it seems 

* Walter M. Lowrie, 

Grade. Grade. 

Languages, 1. Natural Science, 1. 

Moral Science, 1. Mathematics, 1. 

M. Brown. 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 17 

essential — that at least four hours daily be spent in 
study. Still, with an opportunity of daily syste- 
matic exercise, I should not feel much hesitation 
about the Seminary studies. Others with far worse 
health than mine, have gone through as severe a 
course; and as I may probably never have very 
strong health, it may not be worth while to delay 
on that account, especially if my youth be not con- 
sidered too strong an objection. 

I remain your affectionate son, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



New York, November 21st, 1837. 

Mr. John Lloyd — Dear Brother : — Though this 
method of communication is but a poor substitute 
for that " sweet counsel" we have so often enjoyed, 
yet as it is the best that now remains for us, I gladly 
embrace the first good opportunity that has yet 
occurred, to renew our friendship. For it does seem 
as though it had to be renewed, when I think that, 
though you and myself have often "held sweetest 
converse about what God had done for our souls," 
and that though our eyes have brightened and our 
hearts warmed, as we "talked by the way," yet 
now we are separated by a distance of more than 
four hundred miles, and are without the prospect of 
seeing each other for months, and perhaps years. 
Yet though separated in body, I trust we are often 
present in spirit, and especially that, at the throne 
of "our Father," we can still enjoy communion, 
and be the means of profit to each other, perhaps 
even greater than that which our mutual conversa- 
tions could have afforded. It is surely consoling 
to know that there is One who watches over us, and 
over our dearest friends, far better than we could 
possibly do, and that at all times he will do all 
things well. Yet, were it consistent with duty, I 
should like again to spend a few hours with you^ 

2* 



18 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

and again partake in those social joys that kindred 
spirits like yours and mine so much delight in. My 
situation here, though fully as pleasant as I expected 
it to be, is very different from what it was at Ca- 
nonsburg. I have as yet very few acquaintances 
here, and do not expect to have many. Those that 
I have, I know not what they are, for the rules of 
fashion are so trammelling, that one cannot at once 
make those friendly advances which are common 
among you. Consequently when I would enjoy the 
holier joys of friendship, I must draw off my atten- 
tion from things around me, and return to past days 
and scenes, in many of which you and one or two 
others held a conspicuous part. Do you remember 
that day after our missionary meeting of the Society 
of Inquiry, last March, when you and I took that long 
walk " over the hills and far away," and in our con- 
versation seemed to have some foretastes of "glory 
begun below ?" Many and many a time has it risen 
to my mind, and if it has not drawn tears from my 
eyes, it has done what is better — encouraged me to 
go forward, and caused me to gird up the loins of 
my mind anew for the heavenly race, and made me 
sometimes to remember a friend, a fellow-expectant 
of what " eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither 
hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive." 
I am very glad to find that comparative solitude 
agrees so well with me ; for I was really afraid that 
after being so used to meetings of one kind or an- 
other every night, it would be difficult to get along 
without them. In fact, it does require some effort 
to keep alive the spirit of piety, when one has no- 
thing like the Society of Inquiry or the Brainerd 
Society to excite to action; nothing but the stated 
ordinances of God's house to nourish the soul. Yet 
on that very account I prize my present situation 
the more, because I am thereby enabled, or perhaps 
I should say required, to live more by faith and less 
by sight, or frames and feelings. And to a mission- 
ary nothing can be more important, than to be able 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 19 

to live without any thing to keep the soul in con- 
stant excitement ; for, as it has been well remarked, 
" when he gets to his field of labour, he can attend 
no crowded meetings to hear some eloquent orator 
descant upon the magnanimity of the missionary 
enterprise." All the " romance of missions" must 
then be laid aside, and in its reality, he may almost 
be tempted to forget for whom and for what he is 
labouring, and becoming discouraged, lay down his 
weapons, and retire vanquished from the field to 
which his Master called him. 

It seems to me, on looking back on the last two 
or three years of my collegiate course, that we all 
lived too much by excitement, not enough by simple 
faith. Our religious societies were precious and 
profitable, and I should be sorry to give them up, 
but perhaps we depended too much on them, with- 
out remembering that " Paul may plant and Apollos 
water, but God alone can give the increase;' and 
this dependence on these means, (at least in my 
own case,) was productive of a spirit of action more 
resembling the "crackling of thorns," than the 
steady, intense flame that consumed the Jewish 
sacrifices. Oh, my brother! guard against this 
spirit of trusting to any thing in preference to the 
revealed will of God, and his ordinances, for anima- 
tion in the divine life. 

What is the state of missionary feeling now 
among you ? Do you yet hear the voice, " Come 
over and help us," and the wailing cry, "And what 
then?" as it rises from the death-bed of the Hin- 
doo, and, borne across the waste of waters, reaches 
our ears both from the east and the west, swelled as 
it is, and heightened and prolonged by the addition 
of innumerable others? Oh, does the "cry of the 
nations," echoed and re-echoed from the distant 
mountains, still sound among you? Or does it die 
away among the crumbling ruins of heathen temples, 
unheard and unheeded, save by the infidel and the 
deist? Oh, who is there to come up to the help of 



20 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

the Lord against the mighty? There is nothing in 
all my course for which I reproach myself so much, 
as that I did so little to excite a missionary spirit 
at College. I do not mean among those who were 
already determined as to the path of duty, but 
among those who had not decided the question; for 
very rarely did I press upon any of them as I should, 
the importance of the work, the necessity, absolute, 
increasing, and alas ! almost irremediable necessity 
now existing for labourers, and their own duty in 
this great matter. Dear brother, can you not do 
something? You have the confidence of most of 
the pious students, and could you but muster courage 
enough to determine to do something in this matter, 
unborn millions would bless you for it. Let me 
transcribe for you a few lines from an appeal of 
some missionaries in India; you have perhaps seen 
them before, but they will bear reading and pray- 
ing over again : 

"The soil is ready for the seed, and the seed 
ready to be sown, but where are the husbandmen? 
In some places it has been scattered abroad and the 
fields are white for the harvest, but where are the 
reapers ? Congregations large and attentive might 
be procured every day, but we have no men. Schools 
might be established on Christian principles, but we 
have no men. Humanly speaking, souls might be 
saved, but 'how can they hear without a preacher? 
You can increase the number of these queries to an 
almost indefinite extent, but the answer will almost 
always be, we have no men ! We have gone to the 
colleges and seminaries of learning, but we found 
few to answer our demands. We went to the 
haunts of society, but one was busied about his 
farm, and another about his merchandise, and an- 
other w T ith the sweets of domestic society. We 
went to the schools of the prophets, and asked if 
on any of them rested the spirit of Elijah? but 
there were few to answer the call. Despairing, we 
looked to the heathen, and as we saw them go down 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 21 

by crowds to the darkness of the second death, we felt 
as if yet another effort should be made. Oh, who 
will go for us?" 

Wishing you all temporal and all spiritual bless- 
ings, and sympathizing most sincerely with you in 
your afflicting bereavement, (of which I have only 
just heard,) 

I remain your brother, 

W M. Lowrie. 



New York, January 1st, 1838. 

Mr. John Lloyd — A happy new year to you, 
friend John ! and may you see many more such, if 
the Lord will ! What are you doing now, whilst I 
am writing to you ? Cousin John tells me you have 
holidays (old times are in that word) at present; 
so I will just let my imagination try if she can find 
where you are, or what you are doing. But as you 
are pretty much of a home-loving creature, I sup- 
pose I need not go far to find you. Probably you 
are going about, paying some fifteen minute visits, 
for you were never famous for long ones ; or very 
probably you are standing by the side of the old 
mill-dam, and watching the fellows skating. I 
hardly think you would adventure yourself on the 
ice, for you are almost too grave for that. But no — 
I forget; this is the first Monday of the month, and 
of the year, and therefore you are probably stuck 
up in a corner of your room, reading all the mis- 
sionary pamphlets you can lay hands on. By the 
way, have you read the life of Swartz? If you 
have not, let me "lay my commands" on you to 
read it immediately. You know how much our ex- 
perience resembles each other's — now rejoicing, and 
now, again, discouraged and without heart. Swartz 
was always on the proper pitch; constantly in the 
exercise of strong, unwavering, childlike confidence 
in God, and therefore he was always ready to employ 



22 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

himself in his Master's business. He was always 
busy, always cheerful, and always useful. Dear 
brother, may we strive to be like him, and may we 
have the same success in our labours that he had in 
his ! I can ask for few blessings greater, either for 
you or for myself, than is contained in that wish. 
I read Bedell's memoirs some time ago, and have 
just now finished those of Hannah More. They 
are both of them most excellent. The former I was 
delighted with. The memoirs of the latter are also 
very interesting, indeed. They are compiled from 
her letters almost entirely, including a great many 
from various celebrated characters who were cotem- 
porary with herself; and are, I think, excellent 
models of epistolary correspondence. The style of 
almost all is very good, and, what is far more im- 
portant, through most of them there is a strong vein 
of deep-toned sensibility and piety. I really began 
to entertain a considerable degree of reverence for 
her before I got quite through the memoir. She 
was an extraordinary woman, possessed of more 
than common talents, and able to do almost what 
she pleased; yet, so far from indulging herself in 
this liberty, her whole life was spent in a most quiet 
manner, without any flashes, or romantic adventures 
or pursuits, or anything inconsistent with the char- 
acter of a plain, common-sense woman. 

Mitchell and Orr, missionaries to China, sailed 
nearly a month ago. How soon will you be ready? 
Do you still think of China in preference to India? 

It seems strange that this is the beginning of 
another year. How the time rolls around! Yet 
to me the thought that time is rapidly passing away 
is pleasant. It is solemn, and yet most delightful, 
to think that my " salvation is nearer than when I 
believed;" that, if I am a Christian, I am three 
years nearer to my heavenly home than when first 
the light of truth beamed on my darkened and dis- 
tressed mind. True, of many misimprovements 
and much waste of precious time, I have to accuse 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 23 

myself; yet still the Lord is full of compassion, 
and the blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin ; and 
through him I can look death in the face, and ex- 
claim, when Satan, and doubts, and fears assail me, 
" I know that my Redeemer liveth." By the way, 
I heard a sermon on that text yesterday, from an 
Episcopal minister. He said that the word translated 
Redeemer in this passage, was the same as that 
used in Ruth iii. 9, "A near kinsman," or, as the 
margin has it, " One that has a right to redeem." 
The mention that such was the meaning of the word, 
led me into a train of very pleasing and profitable 
thought. If we had been taken captive by ene- 
mies, and knew that our father, or mother, or brother, 
were aware of it, we should be sure that they would 
use every exertion to ransom us. But there is a 
friend that sticketh closer than a brother : this friend 
is our Redeemer, and this Redeemer is the omni- 
potent God. Can there, then, be any doubt of our 
final salvation ? 

The last two or three months have been very 
pleasant ones. I seem to have had more nearness 
of access to God, greater confidence in the Saviour, 
and more of the influences of the Spirit, than I 
have usually had. Among other reasons for these 
great blessings, I have no doubt but the prayers of 
my many friends in Canonsburg and its vicinity 
have had much effect. I still need your prayers 
very much, for I am prone every moment to fall. 

And now, brother, my paper tells me I must 
close; and commending you to the grace of God, 
which is able to keep you through faith unto salva- 
tion, I remain, 

Your affectionate brother in Christ, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



24 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

Princeton, July 4th, 1838. 

My Dear Mother — ... I get up every morning 
at half past four, often sooner, but rarely later, and 
take a walk of one or two miles. It is most invig- 
orating to the whole system, while the fresh air, 
singing birds, pleasant fragrance of the fields, and 
the thousand and one nameless pleasures of a morn- 
ing walk, concur to make it a most delightful cus- 
tom. When I get back it is near breakfast time. 
The appropriate duties of the morning over, I com- 
mence study at seven, and continue till half past 
ten, or perhaps eleven, at Latin, Greek and Hebrew, 
singing a little at intervals by way of relaxation. 
Dinner is ready at half past twelve, and miscella- 
neous employments occupy me till two; then some 
regular reading connected with the course here, till 
half past four. Prayers and supper at five, and com- 
pany, talking, walking, singing, meetings, bathing, 
reading, writing, thinking, and not thinldng, &c, 
till nine. Generally I manage to be asleep soon 
after ten. My next door neighbour has an alarm 
clock, which usually awakens me in the morning, 
and if it did not the old bell would at five. Though 
not pursuing the regular studies of my class, I find 
abundance to do, and my time generally passes in 
the way above described. 

There is here, as may be supposed, every variety 
of character. The variety is fully as great, if not 
greater, than it was at College, excluding of course 
those who were not professors of religion. There 
is a good deal of reserve among the students to- 
wards new comers, though perhaps not greater than 
one would expect. As yet I have not made many 
intimate acquaintances, and do not wish to, for a 
short time. There are, however, some lovely spirits 
among these brethren. 

Yours affectionately, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 25 

Princeton, February 22d, 1839. 

Mr. John Lloyd — On the subject of personal reli- 
gious feeling, I suppose I can sympathize with you 
as formerly. It is distressing to feel that we ought 
to be more engaged in the service of God, and yet 
feel a deadness, a numbness of all the moral feelings, 
when we contemplate divine things. In such a con- 
dition, the word of God, while we see that it has 
force, makes no impression on us; prayer seems 
more like a task than a pleasure; meditation is a 
tedious, tasteless thing. And yet we cannot feel 
happy in the world ; that does not satisfy us ; that 
cannot fill the aching void. But it is profitable to 
be left thus, at times ; for then we feel more and 
more our own weakness, and perhaps it would not 
do for persons constituted as you and I are, to enjoy 
too much of mere comfort: we would place our 
hearts too much on the pleasure, and be in danger 
of forgetting Him from whom it came. On this 
subject there is great danger, too, of our making 
mistakes, and because we do not enjoy religion as 
much as formerly, of thinking we are not as en- 
gaged as we were then. The truth, I suppose, is, 
that we are not to measure our standard of piety 
by our enjoyment, so much as by the steadiness of 
our purpose of self-consecration to God. The more 
willing we feel to renounce all for him, to submit to 
him, to be anything or nothing as he chooses — in- 
deed, to have our will entirely swallowed up in his, 
just so far, and no further, do we grow in grace. 
Like John the Baptist we shall say of our Saviour, 
"He must increase, but I must decrease." And 
there is a pleasure in lying down at the feet of 
Jesus, and yielding ourselves to him, which may 
not be accompanied with tumultuous joy, but it 
brings a calm and holy peace which the world never 
knew. At such times we look on death and the 
grave without fear, nay, almost with desire; for, 
though we are willing to labour our three score 

3 



26 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

years and ten, yet we feel that "to be with Christ 
is far better." Dear brother, when you feel your 
heart so cold, does it not rejoice you to think that 
in heaven it will not be so ? — that there you shall 
know and love as much as you wish, and that these 
vexing cares and trying experiences will be no more ? 

"There is an hour of peaceful rest 

To mourning wanderers given; 
There is a joy for souls distressed — - 
A balm for every wounded breast: 

'Tis found above — in heaven." 

Wherefore, my brother, comfort your heart with 
these words. The Psalmist, in his affliction, remem- 
bered God "from the land of the Hermonites, and 
the hill Mizar." There is a land and a hill to which 
you can refer with feelings of joy — I need not say 
where nor when. I commenced the preceding page 
with my own heart in the dust; but these thoughts 
have gladdened it and refreshed me. 

I think you will be highly delighted with the 
Seminary course, especially the study of Hebrew; 
nothing ever delighted me so much, in the way of 
study, as that venerable language; and the facili- 
ties of studying it are now so great that any one 
may acquire it. Get Norclheimer's Grammar by all 
means, and don't think of any other; it is a real 
treat to read that Grammar. 

I must close, but only for want of time to write 
more. The Jefferson students here are all well, 
and, if they knew I was writing, would doubtless 
ask to be remembered to you. 

Farewell. — Pray for me, 
< In Christian love, yours, 

I W. M. Lowrie. 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 27 

Princeton, June 24th, 1839. 

Mr. John Lloyd — Dear Brother : — .... I am 
very sorry you cannot come here in the fall. To 
me nothing would afford greater pleasure ; for one 
of kindred spirit with myself, to enter fully into all 
my feelings and sympathize with me, I have not 
found since we parted — at least, none like yourself. 
It pains me now at times, when I think how much 
more profitable we might have been to each other in 
the Christian life. But it also rejoices me, to think 
of our seasons of Christian intercourse, and of the 
long walks we had over the hills, when we talked 
of heaven, and our hearts burned as our Saviour 
met with us by the way. Do you ever now enjoy 
such seasons? Yesterday Dr. Alexander preached 
on 2 Cor. iii. 18; "We all, with open face," &c. 
While preaching, a few thoughts of the astonishing 
condescension and love of Jesus, the great God, 
taking our nature upon him, and living "manifest 
in the flesh," seemed to fill my mind. I could 
readily conceive of a Christian's soul being swal- 
lowed up in contemplation of God's character and 
the Saviour's love. Oh! the riches of boundless, 
endless grace ! Yet it is not often this icy heart is 
thus melted, and oh ! it is much easier for the flame 
once kindled to die away, than to mount up and 
reach towards heaven. Dear brother, pray for me. 
The Christian's life is a warfare, and more and more 
do I feel that every day must witness conflicts and 
battles sore and long. Why should the soldiers 
slumber when the enemy is upon them? Especially 
why should the leaders be remiss when the danger 
is so urgent? 

The subject of missions receives some attention 
here, but not what it deserves. Last term the in- 
terest was considerable, and there were twelve or 
fifteen who looked forward to the foreign field as 
their future destination. How flourishes the spirit 
of missions at College ? You have never mentioned 



28 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

this in any of your letters. I hope the Brainerd 
Society prospers. That band of brothers might do 
wonders ; they ought to do much. So we all should. 
But oh ! how cold our love, how weak our faith is 
found. "Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus 
Christ." 

Most truly yours, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



Princeton, August 21st, 1839. 

To Mr. John Lloyd — Dear Friend : — Your letter 
did me good like a cordial. It convinced me, though 
I did not need that, that there was one person in 
the world who cared for so useless and insignificant 
a creature as myself; that I was affectionately re- 
membered when" the lowering clouds without were 
but an emblem of the deeper gloom within; and 
when despondency seemed to paralyze the energies 
of the soul, that still there were those who would 
pray for me, and sympathize with me. It was good 
news from a far country; and, if you will pardon 
the comparison, as Jonathan stripped off his own 
robe and gave it to David, so did the disposition 
and frame you seemed to be in steal over my mind. 

There is not much missionary spirit in the Semi- 
nary at present, and few, if any, have lately decided 
to go abroad. Still there appears to be an under- 
current of feeling on the subject, which, we hope, 
will soon manifest itself openly. I have not yet 
decided where to go, and do not expect to, for some 
time. But let me whisper in your ear, for I don't 
want it known, that I look to a field nearer home 
than China, or even North India. Don't hold up 
your hands in astonishment at this — I mean Western 
Africa, the white man's grave. There has been a 
great change of feeling in the Seminary, in regard 
to this field, since I came here. Last summer, at 
the first part of the session, there was not one 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 29 



student who even thought of Western Africa as a 
missionary field. But during the course of the last 
winter, one, and then another, of the brethren de- 
termined to go to Western Africa, and they have 
now gone. May our Father go with them ! I look 
on this experiment with deep interest ; — it is yet an 
experiment, but I hope it will be successful. 

My religious feelings are exceedingly cold at 
present. It is difficult to be always engaged in the 
critical study of the Bible, and collateral objects of 
inquiry, and not have the mind at times drawn 
away from the spirit to the mere letter of the com- 
mands. Yet I do at times, even in recitation, obtain 
a glimpse of Him whom my soul loveth; and 0, 
how sweet is his countenance ! The doctrine of jus- 
tification by faith has appeared to me in a clearer 
light this summer than ever before; and though 
sometimes the " old man" seems to revolt against it, 
yet it always seems the most glorious to God, and 
worthy of acceptance. It gives an immovable 
ground of confidence, and removes every reason for 
despair. that we may both heartily embrace it, 
and be saved for Christ's sake only ! 

Write to me soon. 

Your brother in Christ, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



Princeton, December 11th, 1839. 

Mr. John Lloyd— Dear Brother : — Your very 
welcome epistle was taken up principally in propos- 
ing objections to Western Africa as a missionary 
field; and I was glad to read them; not that they 
have altered the current of my desires, but they 
brought the subject fully before me again. 

Your objections were — 1st. The unhealthiness of 
Western Africa, and 2nd. The prospects of useful- 
ness in North India or China. The first is a strong 
one, and even stronger, perhaps, than you suppose ; 

3* 



30 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIEL 

in one point of view, and to one ignorant of the 
facts, it is so. Of one hundred and ten missionaries 
sent by the Church Missionary Society, in the 
course of thirty years, a very large proportion died 
in two or three months, and vastly the majority 
before they did anything: yet the very first one 
who went out lived twenty-three years, and several 
others shorter periods. But the question is, why 
so many died so soon? Answer: 1st. Because of 
the unhealthiness of the climate. 2nd. Because far 
less was known of the climate of Western Africa 
by medical men than of almost any other tropical 
country ; and therefore their remedies were not so 
skilfully applied, nor preventives so effectually used 
in the first instance. 3d. Because many of the 
missionaries acted exceedingly rashly when they 
first commenced operations. They came from Eng- 
land and Germany, and, in some cases, with insuffi- 
cient accommodations on their voyage. They com- 
menced their labours immediately. During the hot 
summer they preached two or three times every 
Sabbath, superintended schools during the week, 
worked at hard work often. Others, particularly 
females, died of complaints not peculiar to any 
climate. As to the first reason, it is with me a 
question whether the climate of Africa is at all more 
unhealthy than that of India. 

Now for the second. — The prospect of doing a 
great deal of good in India is very flattering. But 
is Africa to be left until India is evangelized ? Per- 
haps, also, we do not at all know what the prospects 
are in Africa. I am inclined to think them very 
extensive. Certainly our missionaries have their 
hands full, and much more. What else can they 
say in India? Again, the human heart is the same 
everywhere ; yet I apprehend that there are not so 
man}^ obstacles in Africa to the conversion of the 
natives as there are in India. They are a ruder 
people ; they have less to pride themselves upon in 
the way of science, arts, and wealth, than the Hin- 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 31 

dus ; and we know that not many noble, not many 
mighty, are called. True, the Lord is able to con- 
vert the learned and proud, just as well as the igno- 
rant and degraded ; blessed be his name for it : yet 
still, do we not commonly find, that among the latter 
there are more cases of hopeful conversion than 
among the former ? But I have not time now to 
continue the subject. These are some of the reasons, 
barely mentioned, and thrown together without any 
order, that combine to make me prefer Western 
Africa. China, I fear, is to me out of the question. 
My life will probably be short at best, and I cer- 
tainly expect the greater part of it would be gone 
before I could master that language. Siam I might 
like on some accounts. I have talked of India often, 
and while my brother was there, I thought of that 
country; but it has never appeared to me in so in- 
viting an aspect as it has to some others. My sym- 
pathies are awakened for Africa. My judgment, 
perhaps influenced somewhat by my sympathies, 
speaks for her; the prospects of usefulness call 
loudly; objections do not seem so strong to me as 
to some others; and "Here am I, Lord," is all I 
have to say about this subject. My mind is not 
made up, and will not be, till I have more carefully 
examined the subject. The Lord direct my in- 
quiries, and yours also, my clear brother. 

We are now engaged in studying theology — an 
interesting, delightful, and infinite subject. 

Yours in the most cordial Christian love, 

W. M. Loy^rie. 



Princeton, February 21st, 1840. 

Mr. John M. Lowrie — Dear Cousin: — .... I 
was reading Turrettin's Theology this morning, about 
the tree of life, and the comparison he instituted 
between the tree of life and Christ was really most 
delightful. I could almost believe I was in heaven 



i c j 



32 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

partaking of its fruits, numerous and varied and 
rich as they are ; sitting under its shade, and quaff- 
ing of the river of the water of life, that flows from 
the throne of God and the Lamb. Oh for that 
happy time when faith shall be turned to sight, and 
expectation to the full fruition of the holy joys of 
heaven ! But alas ! the language of mourning and 
sorrow suits me best. I know but in part, and I 
am sanctified but in part. I see but through a 
glass darkly, and eternal things fade away in the 
distance, while earthly trifles fill the mind. But it 
will not always be so. The Lord prepare us, both 
living and dying, to glorify his name ! 

.... With my present views of the holy minis- 
try, I would rather spend four years than three in 
preparing directly for it, and certainly I think there 
will be no reason to regret having spent a session 
extra in reference to it. 

I find that in every place I have still the same 
evil heart, the same proneness to depart from God; 
and I fear very much, lest after a while, the exer- 
cises of this place, admirably calculated as they 
appear to be for the cultivation of piety, should 
degenerate with me into a mere round of formal 
duties. Nothing but constant dependence on God, 
and constant renunciation of ourselves, can possibly 
secure us from danger. 

I am more and more convinced that the Bible, 
the word of God, should be the great study of the 
minister of God, and that all other studies should 
be subservient to this. Even theology is only valu- 
able so far as it gives us clearer views of what the 
Bible teaches, and connected views of its great 
doctrines. With a comprehensive and extended 
knowledge of the Bible as a whole, and in detached 
portions, we shall be workmen that need not be 
ashamed. 

Your affectionate cousin, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 33 

Princeton, September 3d, 1840. 

Mr. John Lloyd — My Dear Brother : — .... At 
the time I received your letter I was not very well, 
and shortly afterwards went home and spent a week 
there. I was at that time received under the care 
of the Second Presbytery of New York, and had 
my pieces assigned me. My Latin piece is, "An 
Christus pro electis solum mortuus sit T on which I 
have written an essay, and translated it into some- 
thing that professes to be Latin, and is so long that 
it covers five foolscap pages. This, with many and 
various other duties, has kept me very busy for 
several weeks past. My health is now very good, 
and I hope, Deo volente, to be licensed next April, 
and ordained soon after. 

.... I have just been examining a little insect 
on my window, and comparing its body with those 
of other insects and with my own. It is wonder- 
fully different from them in shape, size, materials, 
uses, and objects. It has some members I do not 
possess, and wants others granted to me. It has 
life, though not an inch in length, and it appears to 
enjoy its existence. It is but one of an infinitely 
numerous class of beings, each species of which is 
so different from every other, that we can hardly 
conceive of them as possessing any qualities in com- 
mon. Yet they have some, for they all live, they 
all enjoy fife, and they were all made by one great 
and glorious Being. How condescending must he 
be, who has so curiously wrought their little frames ! 
How wise, thus to fashion their bodies ! How kind, 
thus to grant them life and happiness ! How infinite 
in knowledge, to know all their actions, to direct 
and govern all their motions, to foresee and provide 
for all their wants ! Will he look with indifference 
on men ! Will he neglect to attend to them when 
they lift their eyes to him, and cry, Abba, Father? 
Surely not. 

But how humbling is the thought, that with all 



34 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

our boasted wisdom and vaunted power, we cannot 
understand the hidden mysteries of these little 
insects, nor frame another like them ! But then it 
is a glorious truth, that hereafter we shall know all 
we wish to know; and our knowledge, instead of 
puffing us up, will humble us, and cause us to love 
our God and Saviour more. And even now, we 
may look on these little living things, and say, " My 
Father made them all." I thank thee, little fly; 
the sight of thee has filled my soul with pleasant 
thoughts; and I write them here that my friend 

may share them with me 

Farewell. — The Lord be with you and bless you. 

W. M. Lowrie. 



Princeton, Novemb er 1 6 th, 1840. 

My Dear Mother — Your letter from the distant 
south, came to me like good news from a far country. 
You left New York September 30th, I left it the 
next day, and had a pleasant journey to Philadel- 
phia, Canonsburg, Pittsburgh, and Butler, going and 
returning, a thousand miles of travel. I spent a 
most pleasant Sabbath with the church at Miller's 
Bun, where my old Sunday-school is. At Pitts- 
burgh the Synod was in session, and, both in that 
city and in Butler, I saw and spoke to many dear 
friends. For particulars, I refer you to the inclosed. 
On the 5th of November I arrived at my old room 
in Princeton, prepared to say with gratitude, Hither- 
to the Lord has helped and blessed me. 

I have now got pretty fairly settled down to study. 
This is my last session; I can scarcely realize that 
so short a time as six months will finish my theo- 
logical course. It would not take much to induce 
me to begin it again. At present, other duties seem 
to call me hence; but who is sufficient for these 
things ? 

I shall probably offer myself to the Board as a 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 35 

missionary soon, unless something of which I know 
nothing, 'should occur to prevent. Don't stay so 
long in the south, that you cannot be back in time 
to see me off. 

Yours most truly, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



Princefon, December 10th, 1840. 

To the Executive Committee of the Board of 
Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church — It 
has been my wish and intention for several years to 
spend my life as a missionary to the heathen. Be- 
lieving that it is the duty of the Church in her 
organized capacity to prosecute the work of mis- 
sions, I offer myself to you as a candidate for that 
work; and if accepted, shall hold myself in readi- 
ness to enter on it shortly after the close of the 
present session of the Theological Seminary. 

I am now in my twenty-second year, and have 
been a professor of religion for nearly six years. 
The work of missions has always appeared to me to 
be identical with that of the ministry, requiring the 
same talents and preparation, and demanding that 
those who engage in it should be actuated by the 
same motives which influence those who enter on 
the ministry at home. The considerations which 
have influenced me to believe I ought to enter some 
foreign field, are, a desire for some such field, con- 
sidered as a means of being more useful, and the 
fact, that while comparatively a large number are 
willing to enter the ministry at home, few will go 
abroad. The call from heathen lands is loud. It 
must be answered, and knowing no particular rea- 
son why I should settle in this country, I feel pre- 
pared with humility, and yet with cheerfulness, to 
say, " Here am I, Lord, send me." In addition to 
this, the leadings of Providence, ever since I first 
joined the church, and particularly since I entered 



36 MEMOIR, OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

this Seminary, have seemed to direct my course far 
hence to the Gentiles. 

In making you this offer of my services, I shall 
leave it to the Committee to decide on my field of 
labour. My own preferences however are strongly 
towards Western Africa, and I am perfectly willing 
to take on myself the responsibility of going to that 
field. It has been before my mind distinctly for 
two years and a half, and before either of your pre- 
sent missionaries to that field had decided to go 
there. Still, if it be probable that my usefulness 
would be greater elsewhere, I shall willingly go to 
any other field. My health is not robust, yet com- 
monly it is good. 1 believe myself to be more in 
danger of pulmonary diseases than of any other, 
but should probably be less liable to them in a more 
southern climate than this. 

Praying that the Lord would bless and prosper 
the cause of missions, and all those engaged either 
at home or abroad in furthering it, 

I remain with Christian respect and esteem, 
Yours, &c, W. M. Lowrie. 



Bedford, N. Y, May 26th, 1841. 

My Dear Mother — I have spent the week here 
very pleasantly. On the Sabbath I preached twice, 
and attended a funeral, five miles off. These exer- 
cises wearied me very much. 

I have just had one of the longest jaunts among 
the rocks 1 have had for some time. After ascend- 
ing a number of small hillocks, each higher than the 
preceding, and each crowned with several large rocks, 
I reached the top of the highest hill. The prospect 
was beautiful, and on several sides extensive. Whilst 
resting, I began to observe more minutely the top 
of the hill. Several large rocks shot up obliquely 
from beneath the ground ; a few moderate-sized trees 
were growing among them; and I found several 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 37 

little delicate flowers — a violet, a little white flower, 
and various kinds of grasses. What a contrast be- 
tween the everlasting rocks and the fading flowers, 
and yet both were found side by side ! I could not 
help thinking of the way in which the Bible some- 
times groups together the grandest, and at the same 
time the most lovely of God's attributes; for ex- 
ample — 

" Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy 
dominion endureth throughout all generations. The 
Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all that 
be bowed down." — Psalm cxlv. 13, 14. 

So admirably do the book of nature and the book 
of revelation agree, when they speak of our hea- 
venly Father. Pursuing my observations further, I 
found several busy ants tugging away at their seve- 
ral loads, a little wood spider, and several delicately 
formed little flies, all busy, and all apparently happy. 
Yet though so small, God — the same God that 
founded the hills, and hardened the rocks — was 
watching over them, and supplying their wants. I 
admired the wisdom and goodness displayed in 
everything there, and with, 1 trust, a good deal of 
the spirit of a true worshipper, I knelt down on the 
hill-top to offer praises and prayers to him, whom 
the heaven of heavens cannot contain, and who yet 
dwells in the humble and the contrite heart. Such 
seasons are like foretastes of heaven. I may never 
revisit that solitary place, yet I hope often to re- 
member it 

Yours most affectionately, W. M. Lowrle. 



Ogdenslurgh, July 31st, 1841. 

My Dear Father — I have just received yours of 
July 28th, and as it was the first news I had from 
home, it was a very agreeable visitor. I have made 
appointments to preach to-morrow at Morristown, 
and at the second church of Oswegatchie, and the 

4 



38 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

Sabbatli following at Evans' Mills, so that I shall 
not be able to leave for home until the 9th or 10th 
of August. I hope, however, to be home about this 
day two weeks. Thus far my visit has been very 
pleasant, and profitable to myself at least, if not to 
others. The people have everywhere received me 
cordially, and seemed quite gratified at my coming. 

In regard to the object for which Mr. Orr wishes 
to see me, I suppose 1 know what it is, and am half 
inclined to think that it can be settled as well in my 
absence as otherwise. My mind was turned very 
strongly to Africa three years since, and the con- 
siderations that induced me to wish to go there were 
— that very few are willing to labour in that field, 
and that my talents seem to fit me peculiarly for 
such a people as the Africans are. I like to deal 
with an ignorant and yet affectionate people, who 
are not self-conceited. My acquirements, prepara- 
tions, &c, seem to qualify me for that field. An- 
other consideration that weighs a good deal with me 
is, that every one expects that I shall go to Africa. 
It is not vanity that induces me to believe, that 
both Canfield and Alward will be greatly disap- 
pointed should I go to any other field; and I fear 
that many of those who know what my intention 
has been, will attribute any change in my destina- 
tion to fear of the climate. For myself, I should 
not care about any such suspicions; but the effect 
on others may be unpleasant, as it may induce some 
who have thought of going to Africa to hesitate. 

There is still another consideration of a personal 
nature. The mission to Africa is considered rather 
a dangerous experiment, and if I should now decide 
to go elsewhere, would it not give some captious 
spirits the opportunity of saying, that the Corres- 
ponding Secretary was willing to let others go there, 
but not to let his own son expose himself? These 
considerations make me unwilling, with my present 
views, to take on myself the responsibilit}^ of de- 
termining to go to any other country. If the Ex- 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 39 

ecutive Committee, however, think my services are 
more needed in China than in Africa, and that, all 
things considered, I will be more useful in the 
former place; then I have nothing further to say, 
but will cheerfully submit to their decision; and 
shall hold myself in readiness to go this fall, if 
necessary. I shall, in that case, wish to have it 
stated in the Chronicle, that " my preference was for 
Western Africa, but the wants of the China mission 
being such as to induce the Executive Committee 
to change my destination, I consented," &c. Such 
a statement, I think, would not be improper, while 
it would shield me from the charge of "lightness/ 7 
or wishing to avoid an exposed station. 

This letter you may consider either as addressed 
to yourself personally, or to the Executive Com- 
mittee. Mr. Orr's statements may perhaps induce 
me to take some other course than the one above 
mentioned, but at present; I do not see that I can do 
otherwise. 

I remain your affectionate son, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



/Steamboat St. Lawrence, Lake Ontario, July 13th. 

Dear Mother — When riding in the wild woods 
of Michigan, I found so many ideas coming up, that 
I concluded to write you a long letter. I have it 
all to write yet, and the steamboat shakes so, that 
I write like Mr. Hopkins in the Declaration of In- 
dependence. 

From Detroit by railroad to Ann Arbor, it is a 
dreary country part of the way, heavy timber and 
thick underbrush, and any quantity of marshes. I 
left Ionia July 1st, and took the road on the north 
side of Grand river. Next day the road lay through 
a beautiful country, though thinly inhabited, and 
with a profusion of flowers, some of which were 
very beautiful. I saw whole fields quite blue with 



40 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

the "four-o'clocks," which Reuben watches so care- 
fully in your little garden. Then there were wild 
roses, red lilies, sweet-williams, yellow marigolds, 
wild peas, and many others, red, blue, and white, 
which I had never seen before. Some were very 
beautiful, especially the mocassin flower. It is a 
large lady's-slipper ; the flower is red and white, 
and has a very fine appearance. All this was in 
the wilderness. 



"Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, 
And waste its sweetness on the desert air." 



But are they unseen? Is their sweetness wasted? 
Would this be consistent with wisdom in that glori- 
ous Being who makes nothing in vain? Yet of what 
use are they ? Well, they are the houses of a great 
many insects. It is said that several different kinds 
live in every plant. Then, their seeds are food for 
the little buds. Who can tell us, too, what effect 
their perfumes have upon the winds that sweep 
over these solitudes, and visit, in all their freshness 
and healthful influences, the abodes of men ? Then, 
how do we know but that these wild woods are the 
school-houses of other beings, who come down and 
learn lessons from the flowers as they spring up in 
their beauty, and open towards ' the pure light of 
heaven? It is a very contracted view of things to 
suppose that the productions of the earth are in- 
tended only for man, and are lost if he does not use 
them. But there is another thought of far more 
weight — these flowers are grateful to God himself; 
he "delights in the work of his hands." What 
skill, and wisdom, and goodness are displayed in 
these little flowers ! He " clothes the lilies of the 
field." Surely, if God delights in these works of 
his hands, they were not made in vain — their beauty 
is not unseen — their sweetness is not wasted. 

The following Sabbath I spent in Buffalo, and on 
Monday I started off for the Falls of Niagara, de- 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 41 

termined that this time, I would see both sides. I 
spent several hours on the Canada side, and got my 
face wet with the spray on Table Rock, but did not 
feel inclined to go under the Horse-Shoe fall. I soon 
began to drink in the spirit of the place, and to feel 
my soul expanding with the emotions it was so 
well fitted to produce. I will not inflict a descrip- 
tion on you for several very good reasons. I spent 
the night and the next day till 2 p. m., on the 
American side. Every step about the falls was as 
familiar as if I had traversed them but yesterday, 
and yet it was seven years since our hasty visit to 
the place. The little bridge on the Terrapin rocks, 
where we all sat down, and looked over into the 
boiling abyss, is broken down. You will recollect 
how we all admired that magnificent scene. I felt 
melancholy almost all the time. Where were those 
with whom I had formerly walked over these scenes ? 
Two of them were already in their graves. I saw 
many others there, like our party was seven years 
ago — husbands and their wives, — parents and their 
children, — brothers and their sisters. As we did 
then, they seemed to enjoy their visit the more from 
the society of each other. But I was now alone, — 
I knew no one, and scarcely spoke to any one. "A 
stranger and a pilgrim," my thoughts turned to our 
everlasting home. Here I was surrounded with the 
evidences of the power and glory of God. The 
dashing, roaring waters; the foam and the silver 
bubbles that floated on the waves; the bright rain- 
bow that played in quietness over the scene ; the 
old trees on the island; and the little flowers that 
grew out of the fissures of the everlasting rocks — 
each seemed to have a tongue to speak the praises 
of the great Creator. My heart was full; and as I 
felt almost overpowered by the solemnly joyful feel- 
ings of my soul, I could not but ask — will there be 
such scenes as these in heaven? The only answer 
I could give was, if not, there will be that which 
will produce the same emotions that these do ; in a 



42 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

more enrapturing degree. We can know the char- 
acter of God only in his word and in his works, for 
himself we cannot see. Here we learn his power, 
wisdom, and goodness, by such sights as these. In 
heaven we shall know far more of these same attri- 
butes. What the works which shall declare those 
attributes shall be, we may not presume to say. 
But if they are not such as we see on earth, they 
will be so much more glorious, that we shall not 
wish again to see these mighty displays of his 
power. 

From the falls I went to Ogdensburgh, and was 
most kindly received by the Rev. Mr. Savage and 
his lady. I remained in this neighbourhood from 
the 20th of July till the 3d of August, and preached 
in a number of the churches. Some of our meet- 
ings were seasons of deep interest, and I formed 
acquaintances which I will remember while I live. 
With Mr. and Mrs. Savage and their children, I 
could not but feel at home. I saw a good deal of 
that dear patriarch, the Rev. Mr. Rogers, and 
preached for him several times. I enjoyed our in- 
tercourse very much, and I trust was profited by 
the privilege of being with him. When speaking 
of the Saviour he said: "Whenever the Bible 
speaks of Christ by way of metaphor, it is always 
with some term expressive of divine excellencies. 
If he is called a tree, then it is the tree of life. If 
he is called a vine, then it is the true vine. If he 
is called a shepherd, then it is the good shepherd. 
If he is called a plant, then it is the plant of re- 
nown." The remarks may not be new to you, but 
they were new to me, and they brought to my mind 
the idea, that the flowers of the Bible are like the 
flowers of the field, the more closely they are ex- 
amined, the more beautiful do they appear. 

The river St. Lawrence is the noblest river I 
have ever seen. Opposite Ogdensburgh it is about 
a mile and a quarter wide. I had a good view of 
it from the window of my bedroom. It flows on 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 43 

in its majestic calmness ; the waters are beautifully 
clear, and very deep. The opposite bank looks 
well in the distance, much better indeed than when 
you are close to it. 

July 31st. A letter from home; all well. Mr. 
Orr has returned from China, and wishes to see me. 
I suppose he wishes me to go to China. Well, I 
am ready if it be necessary, but I would rather go 
to Africa. However, here am I, and God is every- 
where, and I will go wherever he sends me. 

August 2d. My time in this pleasant neighbour- 
hood is nearly up, and in two days I set off for 
home. Yet why do I talk of home ? u Strangers 
and pilgrims" — such we all are, and who more than 
I? I don't know whether this lonely feeling that 
so often comes over me is the cause 01 it, but 1 love 
to walk in graveyards, and read the names on the 
tombstones. The influence of such places seems 
to come over my soul with a quietness and calm- 
ness that is really pleasant. When I was in Ro- 
chester I visited Mount Hope cemetery — a beauti- 
ful place. The inscription on a grave of a mother 
and her daughter, struck me as very beautiful: 

"The night dew that falls, though in silence it weep, 
Shall brighten with verdure the grave where they sleep ; 
And the tears that we shed, though in secret they roll, 
Shall long keep their memory fresh in the soul." 

Denmark, N. Y., August 9th. I preached yes- 
terday three times at Evans' Mills, and was pretty 
well tired. These ministers have no mercy on a 
wayfaring brother when he comes along;. I left 
early, and arrived here at eight p. m. I have now 
before me sixty-one miles by stage, ninety-six by 
railroad, and one hundred and forty-five by steam- 
boat; three hundred and two miles, to be passed 
over in thirty-six hours. However, rest after 
labour is sweet. If we were all as eagerly antici- 
pating the rest of heaven, as I am the close of my 
present journey, it would be well. 

Most affectionately yours, W. M. Lowrie. 



44 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 



Pittsburgh, September 24th, 1841. 

My Dear Mother — Since leaving New York on 
this, most probably my last visit to this side of the 
mountains, I have been so constantly on the move, 
1 have not been able to write to you. Indeed there 
has but little occurred that is worth notice. I came 
by way of Washington and Canonsburg, spending 
a Sabbath at Miller's Run, my old parish when 1 
was a student in college. It was a time of deep 
feeling both to them and to myself, especially when 
I told them I never expected to meet them again in 
this world. I preached on Monday in Canonsburg, 
and on Tuesday came to Pittsburgh. After two 
days with our friends there, I set off for Butler and 
Venango counties. I spent the Sabbath in Butler, 
and preached once for Mr. Young. I need not go 
over my^ visits to our friends. V erv pleasant and 
very painful they were. how affectionate and 
kind my dear aunts were; and painful as was our 
parting, it was brightened with the blessed hope of 
meeting again in peace, when time shall be no more. 

I returned to Butler on Saturday, and preached 
for Mr. Young on the Sabbath. In the morning, on 
"I am a stranger in the earth;" and the afternoon 
on missions. In the evening, a very large number 
came to the Monthly Concert meeting, and Mr. 
Young and myself both addressed them. Much 
feeling was manifested, and many tears shed. My 
text in the morning seemed to my own feelings to 
be appropriate, even in this the place of my birth. 
I left the place so young, and have been so long 
absent, that my earliest playmates are strangers to 
me. I walk through its streets, and feel myself 
almost alone. I meet but few I know, and the 
houses of old friends are filled with strange faces. 
The school-house looks unnatural, from the changes 
in the neighbouring buildings, and the thickets and 
the forests where I played have been cleared away. 
Even the church, with which some of my earliest 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 45 

recollections are associated, has been removed, and 
another stands near its former site. In the grave- 
yard alone, I felt at home. How my deepest affec- 
tions clustered over the grave of my own sainted 
mother; the letters on her tombstone are not more 
faithful to their trust, than is my memory to her 
pure and lovely virtues. There, too, were many 
whom I knew slightly, or of whom I have learned 
much from others. How sweet the thought that 
many of God's children are sleeping here, and their 
dust is precious to that Saviour who never sleeps, 
and who has the keys of death in his hand. 

Next day I came to Pittsburgh, and after stay- 
ing a few days with my sister, I will set out for 
home. . . . 

Affectionately yours, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



Princeton, September 3d, 1841. 

THE PRESENCE OF CHRIST WITH HIS PEOPLE. 

{Written in a booh of Extracts, for Wm. H. Hornblower.) 

That Christ Jesus is constantly with his people, 
is a fact declared with surprising frequency both in 
the Old and New Testaments. It was he who 
appeared to Isaac, and said, " Sojourn in this land, 
and I will be with thee, and bless thee:" Gen. 
xxvi. 3. It was he who appeared to Jacob, as he 
lay upon the cold ground, and said, "I am with thee 
in all places ; I will not leave thee :" Gen. xxviii. 
15. It was he who appeared to Moses in the burn- 
ing bush, and sending him to the court of Pharaoh, 
said, "Certainly I will be with thee:" Ex. iii. 12. 
And when David, in the sweetest strains of poetry 
and piety, sang, " The Lord is my shepherd, I shall 
not want; yea, though I walk through the valley 
of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou 



46 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

art with me," there is no douht but it was the pre- 
sence of the Saviour which he so gratefully acknow- 
ledges. 

For a time Christ was with his disciples in the 
flesh, and they saw his glory : but it was " expe- 
dient' 7 that he should depart. And yet he is with 
his people still. By his Spirit, by his providence, 
by his own personal and abiding presence, he is 
with them still, and will ever be with them. Almost 
the first thing recorded of him by Matthew is, that 
his name is " Emmanuel, God with us." His own 
last words on earth to his disciples were, u Lo, I am 
with you always." And this is not all. His prayer 
to the Father is, "Father, I will that they also 
whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, 
that they may behold my glory." 

That this Saviour may be ever with you, my 
dear brother, enlightening you, sanctifying you, 
sustaining you in sorrow, temptation and trials, 
making you useful in life and happy in death, and 
glorifying you with himself for ever, — is the earnest 
prayer of the writer of these few lines. 

We have lived and laboured together pleasantly 
and profitably I trust, for a few short years. We 
must soon separate, but we will meet again. Till 
then, pray for me. 

W. M. Lowrie. 



New York, November 30th, 1841. 
Mr. John 0. Proctor — Dear Brother : — You will 
probably begin before now to suppose, that amid the 
many cares and labours preparatory to a final fare- 
well to home and country, I have forgotten you; 
but I have not. I often think with great pleasure 
of the few days spent in Carlisle a year ago. How 
soon our pleasures vanish! yet when they are 
rational, and especially when they are Christian, 
they leave a savour behind them that survives their 



MEMOIR OP WALTER M. LOWRIE. 47 

freshness, like the rose, which, though withered, 
still yields its fragrant perfumes. 

My ordination took place Tuesday, November 
9th, and the farewell meeting was held last Sabbath 
night in Dr. Spring's church. Addresses were made 
by Dr. Spring, my father, and myself. I feel at 
present very cheerful, and think I have seldom 
passed my time so pleasantly as within the last two 
months; yet it is not insensibility, nor want of 
affection to home and friends, that makes me so 
cheerful; for tears will flow at times at the thought 
of going far off, no more to return. Who knows 
what a day may bring forth ? I am going out into 
the wide world, expecting to be gone for life; yet 
I know not but that a very few years may see me 
again at home. However, that is not probable; 
and now I do not desire it. It is a responsible step 
I am taking, and I never felt more in need of sus- 
taining grace, and of the prayers of my friends to 
secure that grace for me. 

Dec. 9th. The time of sailing is still uncertain." 
However, such a disappointment is not very grievous, 
for it gives the opportunity of being more at home ; 
yet / should not talk of home, for there will soon be 
no such place in the wide world for me ; and, in- 
deed, for many years, I have spent but little of my 
time at home. Long a wanderer, I am a stranger 
in the place of my birth, where I spent my boyish 
days. When I was out there this fall, I felt alone 
as I walked through the streets, for a generation 
had grown up that knew me not, and almost all my 
old playmates were gone : some were dead ; others 
married and settled in life; others moved far away; 
and, save here and there a gray-haired patriarch or 
a mother in Israel, I knew very few. I went into 
the church where my grandfather preached, and my 
parents had worshipped, and felt that I was almost 
alone ; and I preached on the text, " I am a stranger 
in the earth, ' for no other passage of Scripture 
seemed to suit my own feelings so well. Now " the 



48 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

world is all before me, where to choose my place of 
rest, and Providence my guide;" though the poet 
was wrong there, for men can no more find a place 
of rest in this fleeting world, than the dove could 
find rest for the sole of her foot, when the waters 
of the deluge rolled round the earth. Like her we 
must fly, and that towards heaven, if we would 
avoid being buried in the waves of worldliness and 
spiritual death. Blessed be God, there is for us, 
also, an ark, where the weary may resort for shelter 
and defence, when the storm is abroad; and when 
the heavens and the earth shall have passed away, 
we may still repose with unshaken confidence on 
him who now walks on the waves that threaten to 
engulph us, and who then shall be our everlasting 
portion ! I did not intend to have talked so much 
about myself, but at prssent nothing else occurred 
to me that I thought would interest you. I shall 
hope to hear from you very soon after I get to 
Singapore. Pray for me. 

Your brother in Christ, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



New Yorlc, December 29th, 1841. 

Mr. John Lloyd — Dear Brother: — I expected 
long ere this to have been on my way, but I am yet 
detained, and having a spare hour this afternoon, I 
can spend it very pleasantly in having a talk with 
you; though, unfortunately, the talking must be all 
on one side. The Huntress, which was to have 
gone a month ago, will hardly get off in less than 
two weeks from the present time. I am now all 
ready, or could be ready at a few hours' notice ; 
and as my mind has become familiarized to the idea 
of departure, I begin to wish that it were over. 
As to my "feelings" in the prospect of departure, 
which you are so anxious to know, they are really 
so commonplace that they are scarcely worth the 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 49 

writing. I could hardly help being amused at the 
way in which you asked me to tell you what my 
feelings were at present; you seemed to attribute 
so much importance to them. I did not say much 
about my feelings, &c, in my last letters to you, 
because I had not time, and did not feel then just in 
the humour for that kind of writing. To tell the 
truth, there are so few persons to whom I care 
about telling my feelings, either orally or by letter, 
that lately I have got much out of the habit of say- 
ing anything about those deeper feelings that are 
known only to God, and my own soul. 

Another thing that makes me say less about them 
is, that I have learned not to rely upon them so 
much as I once did; and indeed, I so often find it 
necessary to act without, and even against feelings, 
from a sense of duty, that this makes me less care- 
ful about them. They are certainly important; 
when we are in a proper "frame," and our "feel- 
ings" are urged on by a favourable impulse, there 
is a great deal of pleasure connected with them. 
But too much dependence upon them will often 
unfit us for duty. A man's feelings may take their 
colour from many things besides his religious state. 
He may be melancholy, from a low state of health, 
when he thinks it is a sense of sin that makes him 
sad. He may be cheerful and feel very grateful, 
as he supposes, from a sense of God's favour; and 
yet the greater part of his joy shall be caused by 
the mere flow of animal spirits. Our feelings arise 
very often, indeed, from something in ourselves; 
but our standard of duty is not anything in our- 
selves, but the eternal word of God. That is liable 
to no changes, and does not fluctuate with the ever- 
varying tide of human passion, but flows on ever 
the same. I do not undervalue the importance of 
feelings ; they are like the perfumes that sweeten 
the gales which waft us on our course ; and at times 
they may even be compared to the gales that assist 
the galley-slave, as he toils at his oars. But we 

5 



50 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRLE. 

are rowing up stream, and it will not do for us to 
lie on our oars, every time the breeze lulls. "Time 
and tide wait for no man," and we, on the other 
hand, in our heavenly course, must toil on without 
waiting for time or tide, or wind or wave. " Faint, 
yet pursuing." As John Bunyan says of religion 
among men, so may it be said of religion in the 
heart, "We must own religion in his rags, as well 
as when in his silver slippers, and stand by him too 
when bound in irons, as well as when he walketh 
the streets with applause." 

But I did not intend to write so long a lecture on 
the feelings, nor do I want you to understand that 
I will not tell you my feelings, nor be glad to hear 
yours: — far from it; for some of the pleasantest 
hours I have ever spent, have been when commun- 
ing with you, as we told each other what the Lord 
had done for our souls. I do think, however, that 
you attach more importance to the state of your 
feelings, than you ought; and hence, one reason 
why your harp is so often tuned to the notes of 
woe. I have often been struck with the remarks 
of Dr. Doddridge, in his Rise and Progress, chapter 
xxii. § 2, — " Religion consists chiefly m the resolu- 
tion of the will for God," &c. That section is well 
worthy of your attention. But I must stop writing 
on this subject, or it will fill up my whole letter, 
and I have a good deal more to say. 

This (December 29th) is the ever-memorable day 
in my history, when a "hope of heaven first budded 
in my heart." Seven years have rolled away since 
then. It seemed a long time then, to look forward 
seven years ; now, to look back, how short ! I have 
been looking backward to-day, and, amidst much 
that is painful and humiliating, I find also much 
that is very pleasant. I think that the most de- 
lightful object on which I fix my eyes, during all 
that time, is the walk you and I had one early 
spring morning, over the hills about Canonsburg. 
We talked of heaven, and it seemed as if while we 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 51 

talked, heaven was opened, and we could see its 
glories. Perhaps you have forgotten the time, but 
it seems to me I never shall. Every time I think 
of it, the scene comes up vividly before my mind. 
" I remember thee, oh my God, from the hill Mizar." 
Shall we ever enjoy another such hour? I almost 
fear at times, that added years have taken from me 
the power of appreciating so sensibly the pleasures 
enjoyed in the days of my "first love." Perhaps 
it is best they should. At any rate the instability 
of youth is well exchanged for the sobriety of riper 
years, when the latter adds to our capacity for glo- 
rifying our Father in heaven, even though it may 
take away the sense of novelty and delight once 
experienced. I have been trying to look forward 
seven years, but who knoweth what a day may 
bring forth? I can see nothing certainly, yet I 
can imagine enough to make me tremble. What 
should such creatures as we are do, if we had not 
an Almighty Saviour near? 

I feel very much disappointed at not having seen 
you, and would ask you to come over new year's 
day, but I shall be out of the city for two or three 
days about that time. Farewell. 

Your brother in Christ, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



New York, January 18th, 1842. 

Mr. John M. Lowrie — Dear Cousin: — After 
long delay, the Huntress is to sail to-morrow. We 
are all well here, and I believe all in good spirits. 
Very seldom have I found my own mind so per- 
fectly calm and peaceful, as it has been since last 
Friday. The Sabbath was to me one of my bright 
days, or rather, as I very seldom have bright, daz- 
zling days, it was one of those calm, peaceful days, 
when the soul rises insensibly above the world, and 
dwells with the assurance of faith on unseen reali- 



52 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

ties. Unexpectedly to nie, but very gratefully, it 
was communion Sabbath in Mr. Smith's church, the 
church of which I have been a member here. He 
preached an excellent sermon in the morning on 
"As oft as ye eat this bread," &c. After commu- 
nion, I made a few remarks, and the exercises were 
closed with prayer by my brother John. It was 
good to be there, and one of the elders remarked to 
me afterwards, " Truly we have had a feast, and a 
good day." 

Yours in haste, with true affection, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



CHAPTER II. 

January 19 to May 27, 1842. 
Voyage to China — Journal in the Huntress. 

Ship Huntress, Wednesday, Jan. 26th, 1842. 

At sea, N. lat. 33° 38', W. long. 54° 04'. 

My Dear Mother — As it is just a week to-clay 
since leaving home, and circumstances are favour- 
able, I shall commence my promised journal; though 
I have so much to write up from my pencil notes, 
that the very idea of it almost appals me : — so much 
by way of preface. 

We got under weigh at half past twelve last 
Wednesday, and, with three hearty cheers from the 
crew, proceeded down the bay. The novelty and 
excitement of my situation kept me from any very 
unpleasant feelings at parting. I ought to say 
more than this, however. The conviction that I 
was in the path of duty, and the felt presence and 
sustaining influence of an all-gracious Saviour, up- 
held me and carried me safely through a scene that 
I had dreaded almost as much as death itself. 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 53 

As there was little or no wind, the captain and 

filot thought it best to anchor for the night in 
Wince's Bay — a large and very beautiful and safe 
bay, just inside of the Hook, and wait till morning. 
Accordingly the steamboat left us at 3i p. m., and I 
felt really glad, when I saw Mr. B. parting from 
his father and brother, that I had come alone. The 
quietness and deliberation of such partings are kill- 
ing. Farewell speeches read very well, but when 
one is swallowing his feelings and choking almost 
with emotion, and doing his utmost to retain his 
calmness and composure, the sooner in such circum- 
stances the better. A silent shake of the hand and 
away is enough for me. It is bad enough to think 
of it now. 

After reading my Bible with more than ordinary 
interest, I went to bed at ten p. m., as quietly and 
calmly as if I had been at home, and dreamed of 
you all before morning. 

Thursday, January 20th. I was wakened early 
by hearing the men at work on different parts of 
the rigging, weighing anchor, &c. I dressed and 
went out on deck before sunrise. I found Mr. K. 
there, and the captain soon came out. There was 
as yet no wind, but the pilot, who was "wide awake," 
thought a breeze would spring up about sunrise, and 
they were preparing sail, to catch the first breath. 
We did not get fairly started, however, until after 
nine a. m., when a light breeze rilled the higher sails, 
(topsails and top-gallants,) and we slowly moved 
away. Several other vessels, outward bound, had 
anchored near us, and they followed close in our 
wake. We soon got outside of the Hook, and when 
fairly under weigh, the pilot left us, at a quarter 
before twelve. I had hastily written a few lines 
to you and father, which I sent back by him. He 
sprang lightly over the side of the vessel into a row 
boat that was waiting for him, and the last link was 
broken ! We kept on in somewhat of a south-east 
direction, and soon the only object that could be 

5* 



54 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

seen, was the Highlands, south of the entrance of 
the channel to New York. I could hardly realize 
my situation. 

I soon found Mr. B. standing at the stern, look- 
ing rather pale. I could not help laughing, though 
I pitied him, and wrapping myself in my cloak, as 
there was a fresh breeze, I sat down on a stool in 
the stern of the vessel. The motion soon began to 
affect me, and when I went to dinner, there were 
none at the table except the captain and Mr. K. I 
found I was "too far gone" to eat anything, and 
feeling very dizzy, went out into the open air. 
Though I felt more and more sick, I could not help 
being struck with the extreme ludicrousness of the 
appearance of a sea-sick passenger. How the old 
sailors must laugh among themselves at the pale 
faces and wo-begone countenances and staggering 
gait of the "men with gloves on!" I was quite 
sick on Friday, and till three P. M. on Saturday, 
when I went out on deck, and staid about two 
hours. We were then about the middle of the 
Gulf Stream, and the air was quite mild and plea- 
sant. Thermometer, about 63°. I saw a shoal of 
fish playing in the water. Mr. K. said they were 
porpoises, but I could not see' their shape. 

I felt a great deal better ; went to table and ate a 
light supper, and immediately after turned in for the 
night and slept pretty well. Dreamed about home, 
and my trip to Ogdensburgh, and fifty other things. 

There ! I have got safely to the end of last week, 
and I'll now turn in for this night. It is now past 
four bells, i. e., past ten o'clock, p. m., with us, while 
my watch, which I have not altered since leaving 
home, says it is a little past nine with you. I sup- 
pose you are now at family worship. Am I right 
m thinking, that the absent one is remembered at 
this hour ? But I need not ask the question, for I 
know it. Good night. ■ 

Sabbath morning, January 23d. Hose and went 
out about six o'clock, New York time, but here it 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 55 

was past sunrise. The air was very mild and plea- 
sant, and I found little use for my cloak. Tempe- 
rature of the water 71°; air, about 63°. Was out 
on deck most of the morning, when it was cool and 
pleasant. The sky was covered with clouds almost 
all day. I thought of trying to preach in the after- 
noon, but felt almost too weak. The captain, too, 
was quite unwell; and as he and I had concluded 
nothing definite when we spoke of the subject be- 
fore, I did not like to make any move, without con- 
sulting him further. Could not read much ; it made 
me light-headed to read more than two or three 
pages. 

Monday, 24th. Quite a gale rose soon after mid- 
night, and took us all aback. The captain was just 
getting into a refreshing sleep, when he heard the 
sound, and, rushing out on deck, he was wet through 
in an instant by the rain and the sea ; and though 
he came back soon, yet he was much the worse for 
the exposure. I heard the loud and rapid orders 
of the mate, and the quick tread of many feet 
about deck, but, knowing I could be of no use, I 
kept my berth. Went out about seven o'clock, 
though there was so much motion in the ship, that 
I was nearly sick, and could hardly dress myself. 
It was blowing quite a gale, and the ship was driving 
on, and rolling like an egg-shell. Only think of a 
vessel whose weight must be several hundred tons, 
probably 1200, tossing about like a cork! What 
immense power to produce such effects ! And how 
great and powerful must He be who holds the winds 
in his fists, and the seas in the hollow of his hands ! 
I stood and gazed on the dashing and rolling waves, 
and thought of Him who "walked on the waters." 
How sweet to think his name is "Emmanuel, God 
with us." 

The gale continued all day Monday and Tuesday, 
and, as may be supposed, we had a dreary time. 
Not being perfectly recovered from sea-sickness, we 
all felt it more or less. There was a constant gale, 



56 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

the wind roaring and groaning through the rigging, 
the foam and spray breaking over the forecastle, 
and sometimes over the after-parts of the vessel. 
The decks were dripping wet all the time, and 
showers of rain falling every half-hour. 

During the morning the wind tore our jib to rib- 
bons, and we were obliged to take in most of the 
sails, and drive on under close-reefed topsails, and 
reefed mainsail. (To "reef a sail" is to take in 
about-one third of it; to " close-reef" is to take in 
two-thirds.) 

I do not know what our crew think of their pas- 
sengers, but many sailors think that ladies and 
clergymen are very unfortunate people to have on 
shipboard. We tried to talk some in the evening, 
but it would not do, and we turned in to hope for 
better days. 

Tuesday, January 25th. Gale still continued, 
though not so hard, perhaps, as yesterday; but still 
severe, and the motion of the ship, if possible more 
unpleasant. I could eat but little at breakfast, and 
after it was over, I leaned my head against the 
mizzen-mast, which comes through the table just aft 
of my seat, and felt very uncomfortable. The Bible 
was lying just under my face, and I opened it 
almost mechanically. It opened at Job xiv., and I 
read that touching and melancholy passage with a 
deeper experience of its truth than almost ever 
before : 

"Man that is born of a woman is of few days, 
and full of trouble. 

He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down : 
he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not. 

Man lieth down and riseth not, till the heavens 
be no more. They shall not wake, nor be raised 
out of sleep. 

Thou prevailest against him and he passeth, thou 
changest his countenance and sendest him away." 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 57 

Wednesday, 26th. A splendid day ! After a few 
light showers, it cleared off gloriously; the sea be- 
came smooth, and the sun shone out pleasantly ; and 
with a pleasant breeze, that soon dried up the 
moisture of the decks and rigging, we held on the 
"even tenor of our way." We sat in the sun, and 
all felt decidedly better. The captain was out, 
and seeing me reading, "Two Years before the 
Mast," he said, "That's one of the greatest books 
ever written. It is a real masterpiece. There's a 
great many men, and officers, and captains, just as 
they are there described, though they don't all like 
to own it." 

A pigeon or gull followed us for several hours to- 
day, flying with almost no exertion. It was as 
large as a duck, though longer, ash-coloured above, 
and white beneath, with a long bill. 

Took the opportunity of speaking to the captain 
about religious services. He was perfectly willing 
to have service on the Sabbath, and seemed anxious 
to know if we could have singing. He said there 
was no objection to the passengers having prayers 
as often as they chose in the after-cabin; but when 
I spoke of having the men attend once a day, (which 
the mate recommended,) he answered in such a way, 
that I considered it prudent not to afford him the 
opportunity of giving a direct refusal, at least for 
the present. 

A light shower in the afternoon cooled the air a 
little too much. Thermometer during the day 
ranged from 68° to 72° in the shade. The wind 
has increased some, and the vessel rolls a good deal. 
Saw a sail on our stern to-day, a great way off, 
which may have been the same one we saw yester- 
day. 

Finished " Two Years before the Mast," and lent 
it to the captain, who wants to read it. Overhauled 
some of my papers, and began to lay out brother 
Owen's route to India. Read a page of the Brother 
Jonathan, gazed at the deep blue sea for a long 



58 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

time, listened to the canary bird, and talked with 
Mr. B., whom I find a very pleasant companion in- 
deed. Saw a gull flying about and sporting in the 
waves. Its flight was 

" O'er the mountain wave, 
Its home upon the deep." 

Yet methinks like the dove that Noah sent out from 
the ark, or like the Christian pilgrim in the world, 
it would here " find no rest for the sole of its foot." 
Saturday night, January 29th. How many 
thoughts of past, of distant, of high and holy and 
heavenly things it brings ! It speaks of the Sab- 
bath — of rest. But I am tossed on the wide and 
heaving sea; there is no rest on earth, not till we 
come to the heavenly world, where "there is no 
more sea." Now the ship is rolling in the waves, 
everything here is moving. I am a stranger and a 
pilgrim in the earth. I look about in vain for some 
solid, unmoving foundation, but I see none below 
the skies. Upwards, I see the heavenly host, and 
they appear fixed. I know that the things of the 
invisible heavens are firm. That city hath founda- 
tions. Its builder and maker is God. 

" Heaven is the Christian pilgrim's home, 
His rest at every stage." 

Our passengers have begun to amuse themselves 
with talking and planning about their return home, 
but I do not join them in this. Even now, my out- 
ward condition is better than His, who " had not 
where to lay his head;" and for his sake, willingly 
do I " confess that I am a stranger in the earth." 
Goodnight; I am pensive, but happy. It is now 
near your time for family worship; and though 
absent in body, in spirit I will join with you. The 
peace of God keep you all ! 

Monday, January 31st. Yesterday was the Sab- 
bath; the sun rose clear and bright, and the day 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 59 

was fine, with sufficient wind just to keep the sails 
tolerably full. The men were all free soon after 
nine a. m., and soon after ten, we met for preaching 
in the fore-cabin. 

I took my station by the door of my room, where 
I could hold on to the back of the seat round the 
table. The two ladies sat on the bench just before 
me, and the mate next to them, the captain on a 
chair at the corner of the table, Mr. B. and Mr. K. 
on my right hand, and the men along the side and 
end of the room opposite me. They were all pre- 
sent, I believe, except the man at the helm and the 
second mate, who had to keep on the lookout. The 
room was quite full. The services were commenced 
by reading 2 Kings v., then followed prayer and 
singing. I set the tunes myself, and was pretty 
loudly accompanied by several of the crew, some 
two or three of whom knew the tunes, while others 
guessed at them; on the whole the singing was 
tolerable, but I hope it will improve. After sing- 
ing the hymn, I preached on Luke xvii. 11 — 19; 
Christ's healing the ten lepers. My hearers were 
very attentive indeed, especially one of the men, 
whom I had spoken to several times, and whose 
jolly air and hearty singing at the ropes had at- 
tracted my attention. I was, however, a good deal 
embarrassed. My head almost touched the ceiling. 
My audience was almost within arm's length ; some 
were in fact so ; the room was small, and not being 
sufficiently accustomed to the motion of the vessel, 
I had to hold on all the time to the back of the 
seat to keep my balance. Then by having to lead 
in the singing, there was no time to compose my 
thoughts, and I suppose I made but blundering 
work of it. After preaching, there was prayer and. 
singing again, and the benediction — the whole ex- 
ercises taking about fifty minutes. I wanted to 
have them as short as possible, and not knowing 
exactly how much time they would take, this con- 
tributed a little to embarrass me. I assure you, I 



60 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRLE. 

felt for a while after the services were over, as 
though I should like to hide myself from the sight 
of everybody. However, I could not but believe, 
that I had endeavoured to do right; and though for 
a while half tempted to think that such services 
were of no use, yet on the whole I was glad that a 
beginning had been made. We shall probably do 
better hereafter. Soon after service, Mr. Gillespie 
told me that just before service, he had gone into 
the forecastle to see if all the men had come for- 
ward. He found one there who was not quite ready, 
but said he was coming. "Ah, Mr. Gillespie, it is 
seven years since I heard a prayer." It was the 
same man who appeared so attentive. 

Saw a couple of flying-fish to-clay, and thought 
at first that they were little birds ; one of them flew 
with an irregular flight more than forty yards before 
it touched the water. The sight of them made me 
think of a passage in Henry Martyn's diary, where 
he says that he thought his own aspirations after 
holiness and heaven, were short and low and uncer- 
tain, like the flight of the flying-fish. The sight 
and the thought made me condemn myself. 

Had prayers in the cabin at eight p. m., and after- 
wards a long talk with Mr. Gillespie about the Wall- 
street and Middle Dutch churches, and about a voy- 
age Mr. G. made from Liverpool to New York with 
135 steerage passengers, several of whom died on 
the voyage. He had almost the whole care of them, 
and dates his first serious impressions to what he 
then witnessed. Then we talked about the diffi- 
culty of maintaining the life of religion on ship- 
board, and in places of trial, the clanger of worlcl- 
liness, &c. 

Friday, Feb. 4th. Another glorious day. Up 
and out before the sun; saw him rise. My vocabu- 
lary wants words to express the richness and 
beauty of the clouds 

" Which sat about the East, 
And wantoned with his golden locks." 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 61 

After tea, looked over a little school-book in 
astronomy, with maps, &c, and concluded to try 
some of the constellations ; was quite charmed with 
my success, for I made out the whole constellation 
of Orion, and single stars in four or five others. 
The ladies, who were promenading the decks, joined 
me, and after showing them my newly acquired 
knowledge, we spoke of him " who loosed the bands 
of Orion, and sent forth Mazzaroth in his season." 
I became quite enraptured with the study, and 
promise myself a good deal of pleasure in pursuit 
of it. Do you remember how, one night, as we 
were going to church, I pointed out to you the 
North Star, and Orion's belt? I have been looking 
up so long, that my neck fairly aches. How little 
we know of the stars! They are, doubtless, at 
least that is my own firm conviction, inhabited 
worlds, — all displaying the power, and wisdom, and 
goodness of our Creator. What wonderful and 
varied displays of his attributes would be seen by 
one who could visit them all! I am inclined to 
believe — though, of course, it is mere conjecture — 
that every one of them is arranged in a different 
order, inhabited by different kinds of rational and 
irrational beings, with different genera and species 
of plants and minerals ; aye, and different kinds of 
things for which we have neither names nor concep- 
tions. Who shall limit the works of Him, whose 
understanding is infinite, and who is wonderful in 
working ? 

Monday, Feb. 7th. Yesterday was a very calm, 
delightful day. Sufficient breeze to carry us on 
from five to seven miles an hour, and so steady, 
that there was very little motion. Had service in 
the morning, at ten o'clock. Preached on Psalm 
xxxvii. 5; and being less embarrassed, I got on 
much more comfortably than on the preceding Sab- 
bath. The attention was very good indeed. After 
service it was quite pleasant to look to the forward 
part of the ship. The forecastle doors were open, 



62 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

and some of the men were lying in their berths or 
sitting on their chests, reading. Others were sitting 
on the windlass and spars, or standing by the sides 
of the ship, reading or talking, all neatly dressed, 
and apparently all at their ease, and very comfor- 
table. I think onr crew are a very good-looking 
set of men indeed. One of the boys was sitting 
by the ship's side, doing nothing, the mate went 
past him, and as he passed, pulled out a tract from 
his pocket, and gave it to him. Afternoon and 
evening passed off pleasantly and pretty quietly. 
The passengers were talking together in the lower 
cabin, in the evening, where they had cakes and 
nuts, &c, and sent for me to join them, but I ex- 
cused myself, and retired to my own room. It was 
Monthly Concert evening, and I thought of the 
many Monthly Concerts I had attended, — of the 
last one, and of the work before me. Commenced 
an essay, or address, or — I hardly know what yet, 
— but something for Sabbath-schools, which, if it is 
ever finished, I'll try to have published, provided I 
think it worthy of that honour. 

This morning I mustered np courage enough to 
climb up to the main-cross-trees. You may be sure 
I held tight to the ropes, when I had got so high. 
I was surprised to find how small everything looked 
on deck. The ship seemed no broader than a com- 
mon row-boat, and the men on deck only like 
children. 

Saturday, Feb. 12th. Trade-wind still continues, 
and we have come over a thousand miles in five 
days — pretty good sailing that. Calm, pleasant 
day, and rather warm ; looked very much like rain 
for several hours, but it has cleared off beautifully, 
and we have the promise of another pleasant Sab- 
bath. This afternoon, as I was standing by the 
gangway, I observed another kind of fish, the 
"skip-jack." There was a large shoal of them, 
playing about in the water, and leaping sometimes 
ten feet, though commonly not more than three 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 63 

or four. I could not observe the shape or size 
very distinctly; they were perhaps as large as a 
shad. Saw a very large flock of dark-coloured 
birds, but they were too far off to be distinctly 
seen. Star-gazing to-night, and saw a couple of 
stars you never see in the United States — Canopus 
and Acherner. The north star is fast sinking, and 
we shall soon lose sight of it. 

Saturday night again ! The past week has fled 
away swiftly and pleasantly. Soon the Saturday 
night of life will come, and the unending Sabbath 
of eternity will dawn. 

Sabbath, Feb. 13th. A calm, beautiful, and glo- 
rious day. Quite clear all morning, and light fleecy 
clouds in the after part of the day, which tempered 
the air. Preached at ten, a. m., on 2 Cor. v. 21. 
Audience ver}^ attentive. I still lead in singing, 
and must say, it was to-day quite respectable. 
Sung the last hymn (we only sing two) to Old Hun- 
dred, and almost every one joined in. Heard a 
voice I had not heard before singing, and, looking 
up, found it was the captain, singing with a good 
deal of earnestness. After dinner went up to the 
main-top, where I could feel myself alone, and, 
sitting down, read and sang, and looked out on the 
blue sea for an hour. It was good to be there. I 
was above the cares and the business of the deck. 
A light breeze made my station pleasant, and I 
looked out on the calm and gently heaving sea, 
where the sun shone down with bright and yet un- 
dazzling rays. I felt as a Christian sometimes feels 
when all around is calm, and the Spirit's influences, 
like gentle breezes, move upon his soul, and the 
favour of God, like the sun's glad beams, comforts 
his heart. Yet still it was not home ; the rolling 
sea was still there, and no one could say how soon 
the calm might become a storm. It was not hea- 
ven, it was only a foretaste of the eternal rest. 
My meditations, however, were disturbed by the 
sight of a large fish making his way after the ship. 



64 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

The sailmaker said it was probably a shark, because 
we were now in the "shark country." 

Tuesday, Feb. 15th. Rain during the night, and 
quite a heavy shower in the morning. Caught 
about 100 gallons for the stock, and the men and 
boys washed a good many of their clothes, and 
hung them about the rigging to dry. It then fell 
dead calm, and the ship lay like a log on the water. 
The captain said it was just the kind of weather 
for sharks, and he got the shark-hook rigged out, 
and baited with a piece of pork, and hung it out 
astern. Very soon a small shark showed himself, 
and seized it; the line was drawn in, and he was 
quickly on deck. He floundered about at a great 
rate, but was soon hauled to the middle of the 
vessel, and a handspike thrust down his throat; he 
then received several blows on the back of the head 
with a heavy iron hammer, and lay quite still. Al- 
though he was dead, and the second mate opened 
him, took out all the entrails, and washed the inside 
of his body — would you believe it? — after all this, 
he floundered about, and beat the deck violently 
with his tail, and looked so savage, that it was found 
necessary to thrust the handspike down his mouth 
again. He very soon became quiet, and we looked 
at him. He was five feet four inches from the nose 
to the end of tail; fore fins, fifteen inches long; 
back fin, nine inches ; tail, eighteen inches : quite a 
young one. He had evidently been feeding pretty 
heartily, because in his stomach we found several 
large pieces of squid, a fish that is said to grow to 
as large a size as any in the ocean. There were a 
couple of little fishes swimming about him and cling- 
ing to his back, while in the water, and one^ of them 
clung so tight, that he came up on deck with him. 
It was a sucker, which I have in spirits, and will 
try to send home. 

In the afternoon the mate caught a bonito, a fish 
about two feet long, and perhaps six inches in di- 
ameter in the middle. He was perfectly round in 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 65 

every part from the head to the tail; on the back 
he was of a most beautiful purple, and the belly 
was white and golden yellow in streaks, the colours 
gradually mingling with red. Altogether I do not 
wonder that the Portuguese called him bonito, the 
beautiful. The fins on the back and side fold up 
like a fan, and can be laid so close to the body that 
you may pass your hand over them without feeling 
them. Its great peculiarity, however, consists in 
the heart, which is double, the largest part being 
red and the other white. The abdominal cavity is 
very small, and the fish is almost a solid mass of 
flesh. We had part of it cooked, and it formed a 
not unpalatable dish. 

Thursday, Feb. 17th. To-day I paid a visit aloft, 
and went out to the end of the main-top-gallant- 
yard, which is considerably higher than the cross- 
trees ; but the reason I did it was, I found they had 
fixed a ladder from the cross-trees to the royal-mast, 
so that there was no difficulty. Being now used to 
being aloft, I sat on the yard-arm for some time and 
enjoyed the prospect. It is like being at the top 
of a steeple. I went up again by moonlight, and 
the view was very beautiful, even sublime. 

We crossed the line sometime last night, and 
were at twelve m. in lat. 27' south. That is a very 
good passage. It was just four weeks yesterday 
since leaving New York, and four weeks to-day 
since leaving Sandy Hook. This is one of the great 
divisions of our voyage. We shall now begin to 
ask how long it will be before we pass the Cape, 
and then, how long to the straits of Sunda. 

Friday, Feb. loth. Took the south-east trade- 
wind, about four o'clock this morning, and we are 
now moving off gaily in a south-west course. We 
shall run down now towards South America. 

This is my birth-day. Another mile-stone in the 

journey of my life is past. I have come by a 

smooth road so far, and it does not seem long; but 

I cannot tell what my road shall be hereafter, nor 

6* 



66 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

how long. , I often feel, when I look back, as Milton 
did on a similar occasion. 

" My hasting days fly on with full career, 
But my late spring no bud or blossom showeth." 

But let them fly — 

" If I have grace to use them so, 
As ever in my great Taskmaster's eye." 

Aye — and let them speed their flight. I would 
not be impatient, I would not desert my post, how- 
ever incompetent to fill it, nor however great its 
dangers, till my discharge comes. But if they 
hasten on, 

" They'll waft me sooner o'er 
This life's tempestuous sea, 
Then I shall reach the peaceful shore 
Of blest eternity." 

This has been a very pleasant day; too warm to be 
in the sun, but in the upper cabin we had a cool 
breeze all day, and the awning and sails keep the 
sun from beating on the roof. A shoal of porpoises 
were playing under the bows of the vessel for some 
time, but they were "old fellows," and kept out of 
the harpoon's wa}^. In the evening, saw the South- 
ern Cross for the first time. It has not been visible 
before, until after I had gone to bed. I do not 
think, however, that any of the constellations I have 
seen are as splendid as that of Orion. 

Sabbath, Feb. 20th. A very delightful day, ex- 
cept that we are becalmed most of the day. How- 
ever, that made it all the pleasanter for me, on ac- 
count of its being the Sabbath, and thereby giving 
us a quiet time. Preached on Ephesians v. 16, 
" Redeeming the time," — a duty greatly neglected 
on shipboard. In the afternoon we did see a sail, 
homeward bound, but ten or twelve miles off, and 
the breeze so light, that there was no chance of our 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 67 

speaking her. The captain was greatly disappointed. 
He came awa^ from home almost sick, and is very 
anxious to write to his wife. He is a very kind- 
hearted man, and often speaks of his family with 
very great affection. 

Our sunsets now are very splendid. The sky is 
quite as beautiful as I ever saw it at Princeton; 
and if there were only the green fields and waving 
forests to receive the last rays of light, the pros- 
pect would be quite as fine as it commonly is on 
land. Captain Lovett is a great admirer of such 
scenes. After tea, I sat out at the stern alone, and 
sang over a number of our old favourite tunes. No 
one here cares much about music; and I generally 
go by myself when I wish to sing; but in a ship, 
with so many around, it is impossible to be all alone. 

Thursday, Feb. 24th. A delightful, pleasant day. 
Captain "never knew so much fine weather at once 
on an outward-bound voyage." Having finished 
Neal's History of the Puritans, I commenced Ban- 
croft, which is quite a relief. The evenings are so 
beautiful, and the moon shines with such brightness, 
that I have spent several of the past evenings on 
deck; sometimes gazing on the evening sky, and 
suffering all kinds of calm imaginations to float 
through the mind, remembering and repeating scraps 
of poetry, like this — 

" How many days with mute adieu, 

Have gone down yon untrodden sky, 
And still it looks as clear and blue 
As when it first was hung on high ;" 

sometimes learning the names of different stars, and 
comparing their colours and positions. You know 
what the Apostle says — "one star differeth from 
another star in glory." I often wonder I never ob- 
served that before, for the glory of Sirius, with its 
more than lunar brightness, diners widely from the 
red blaze of Arcturus; and Canopus and Capella, 
and liegulus and Aldebaran, have colours that the 



68 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

vocabulary of the earth can hardly name. Truly 
the heavens declare the glory of God. At other 
times I walk on deck, and think of the past, and 
the present, and the future. Sunshine and showers, 
and smiles and tears, and lofty oaks and little 
flowers, mountains and valleys, and rich and poor, 
— where was the one ever seen, that the other was 
not near? 

Had a long talk with the sailmaker to-night. He 
is by birth a Swede, but left Sweden at the age of 
four years; has been at sea twenty-eight years; 
shipwrecked three or four times; once, off Cape 
Horn ; once, seven days without a mouthful of food ; 
another time, seventeen days on so short an allow- 
ance, that at the end of that time hardly one of the 
crew could walk ; once, nearly dead from an attack of 
fever caused by giving up tobacco, the use of which 
he was obliged to resume. He seems to be a serious 
sort of a man; has a number of pious phrases, and 
said that, "he could spend two Sundays as easily 
as one; always plenty to do on Sunday," — mean- 
ing that the Sabbath never hung heavy on his hands. 
He says he reads his Bible a great deal, but often 
wishes he could get a great many parts of it ex- 
plained, "which worry and bother" him. This was 
just what I wanted, and it was in fact the reason why 
I commenced talking with him, that I might propose 
the formation of a Bible class. I accordingly did 
so, and he seemed very glad, and said he would try 
and get some more to join him, and we shall prob- 
ably make a commencement next Sabbath. 

Monday, Feb. 28th. Fine weather still continues. 
On Saturday, saw a " Portuguese man-of-war," i e. a 
little semi-transparent bubble, of a pale rose colour, 
floating on the water. It is a sea animal substance ; 
is something like jelly. In fine weather, a great 
many are occasionally seen about ships. They are 
of a triangular pyramidal form, and are very pretty 
little things. The captain prophesied that we should 
see land on Sunday, and also a sail. Sunday came 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 69 

— a fine day. "We always have fine weather on 
Sunday." Preached in the morning on the Messi- 
anic prophecies of (jenesis ; attention not so good as 
heretofore, and I was afterwards a good deal disap- 
pointed when the sailmaker told me that he had 
spoken to several of the men about forming a Bible 
class, but they were ashamed to be seen in such an 
employment; several "would like to, but if they 
did an the rest would be at them." However, I 
have not given up hope yet. We had hardly got 
through with the service in the morning, when the 
second mate, whose look-out it was, said that land 
w T as in sight. It was the Island of Trinidad, and 
the rocks of Martin Vas— Lat. 20° 28' S. Long. 
20° 50' W. When we saw them first, they were 
twenty or thirty miles off; but we afterwards, in 
the course of the afternoon, passed within ten or 
twelve miles of the rocks of Martin Vas. 

Wednesday, March 2d. Rain in the morning, and 
a much pleasanter day. Progress slow. Have 
already lost all the comparative advantages of our 
speedy passage to the line, and the officers would 
now be willing to compound for ninety days to 
Angier, or even more. 

After prayers I went out to gaze at the stars, 
paying particular attention to those about the south 
pole. I think that this is the most splendid part 
of the heavens ; or at least, that it will very well 
compare with that part of which the constellation 
Orion is the centre. These stars are all seen at one 
view. The Southern Cross is a very beautiful ob- 
ject. It is more like a boy's kite, However. And 
the Southern Triangle is also very conspicuous, be- 
cause there are almost no other stars near it. The 
most remarkable, however, of all these stars, is 
Bungula. It changes colour every two or three 
minutes, from a bright red to a beautiful sea-green, 
and is constantly twinkling. Looking at it through 
the captain's spy-glass, it showed the red and green 
colours combined. The captain says he can see 



70 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

only the twinkling, but Mr. B., the mate, and my- 
self, have all remarked the alternations of red and 
green. These stars, however, are not the only 
wonders of this part of the heavens. 

In clear nights when the moon is not shining, we 
see also the Magellan clouds. These are three in 
number, in the form of the letter V. 




A, at the vertex of the letter, is situated between 
Acrux and Beta in the cross. It is black, but right 
in the middle is a single star or luminous opening, 
that may be seen with the naked eye, and, exam- 
ined through the telescope, is quite bright B, is 
a large white cloud, but no stars are seen in it, at 
least not with the naked eye; and C is about one 
third as large. B and C are about as bright as the 
milky-way. 

After gazing at these wonderful objects, I turned 
the spy-glass to look at the Pleiades. One has no 
idea on looking at them with the naked eye, of the 
number and beauty of the stars in the cluster, as 
seen through a spy-glass. 

Thursday, March 3d. A little rain and wind m 
the morning; a dead calm from ten a. m. till after 
sunset; a sea as smooth as glass, all the while; 
showers after dark, and a light wind afterwards, 
which continued all the night, were the external 
appearances of this day. A solitary porpoise showed 



MEMOIR OP WALTER M. LOWRIE. 71 

himself under the bows of the boat, but after play- 
ing about a little, as if in mockery of our motion- 
less condition, he swam away. The motions of the 
porpoise are exceedingly rapid, and when the ship 
is going ten miles an hour, they will frequently col- 
lect together and sport in the foam directly under- 
neath her bows. 

Saturday, March 5th. The men were at work on 
the rigging all day yesterday and to-clay, and their 
long-drawn and strange cries, the development of 
the muscles of their limbs as they pulled and hauled 
about the rigging, and the numerous knots and splices 
and contrivances to secure the rigging, have af- 
forded me a good deal of instructive amusement. 
A sail has been in sight all day ; an English top-sail 
schooner, going the same course with ourselves, but 
not so fast; she has fallen astern. 

It seems strange how the time passes away. I 
have never on land found it fly more swiftly than 
it has done this voyage. Sabbath comes and Mon- 
day, and, almost before I know it, Saturday night 
is back again. My employments still occupy all 
my time. I commonly prepare a sermon every 
week; and as I meet the ladies in a Bible class on 
Sabbath afternoon and Wednesday morning, that 
also takes time. I had hoped to have a class formed 
among the men, but am afraid I shall not succeed. 
They seem ashamed to be seen engaged in such 
an employment. I stand very much alone as to 
religious exercises; and the worst of it all is, that 
though I am engaged in the business, I have not 
the spirit of Paul. I look forward with much fear 
at times to this Chinese mission. It hardly seems 
possible, that I should do anything in less than 
twenty or thirty years ; and yet I have never seri- 
ously allowed myself to anticipate that length of 
life. But " sufficient unto the day is the evil there- 
of." I do not regret in the least the course I have 
taken. I have never wished since I left home, that 
my face were turned back to the land of my fathers. 



72 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

Not that I have forgotten you, not that I do not 
prize its privileges. I feel most sensibly even here, 
that I should rejoice to go up once more with the 
great congregation to the house of God. I feel 
most deeply that there is an influence in the society 
of Christians to sustain the man of God, which he 
is not aware of, till removed from it. But when I 
look hack on my short life, smooth and unruffled and 
unvaried by any striking occurrence as it may seem 
to others to have been, I can mark the way in which 
I have been led along by an unseen hand, severely 
tried and almost bowed to the earth, when others 
thought me gay and unconcerned. Yet upheld and 
impelled onward, time after time, when the indo- 
lence or the quietness of my own temper would 
have kept me back, I can say, " Thus far hath the 
Lord helped me;" and surely I can say, "Not unto 
me, but to thy name give the glory." If my Mas- 
ter has so long led me and fed me m the wilderness, 
if he has so long guided me on the voyage of life, 
and has showed me so many favours hitherto, he 
will surely still keep me and bring me at length to 
my "desired haven." If I might but give some 
proof that the religion I profess is not in vain, if I 
might but glorify in some feeble degree the Saviour 
who has so graciously redeemed me, then I could 
rejoice and die. Yet perhaps it is best^ for me to 
see little fruit of my labours in my lifetime, that I 
may not depend on anything short of the righteous- 
ness of Christ Jesus. It would be dangerous for 
me to be looked up to as some great one. " The 
Lord reigneth — let the earth rejoice." It is well 
that he chooses our lot, and appoints us our work. 
My life has not been long, but it has been amply 
long enough to show me that I should fail most wo- 
fully, if I had the sole care of my own course. 

Monday, March 7th. Yesterday was a beautiful 
clay, and my mind was at peace. I preached on 
Phil. ii. 6 — 11, with more ease and fluency, and 
was listened to with more attention, than at any 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 73 

time since coming on board ; and when the evening 
shades came over the sea, I was happy still. During 
the day I brought out a copy 01 the Pilgrim's 
Progress, and laid it on the table. In a very short 
time Mr. B. was reading it very busily, and when 
he laid it down, the captain took it up. " The Pil- 
grim's Progress !" said he, " I read this a long time 
ago ; I think I would like to read it again." He 
commenced right away, and has been reading at it 
very busily since. He said this evening that he 
liked his book very much. Yesterday evening the 
sunset was very beautiful. I would try and de- 
scribe it, but can give you no adequate idea of it. 
You will perhaps wonder that I write so much about 
the sky and stars, but except in our own little 
world on board there is nothing but sea and sky to 
write about. 

I went up to the cross-trees to look out on the 
ocean, and the scene was indescribably grand. For 
several miles all around, the sea was covered with 
large waves, each wave breaking into masses of foam 
many yards in extent, and the noise of the winds 
and waves together made it impossible for me to 
hear Mr. B., who called to me to "go up higher.' 7 
The sun was shining almost all day, which added 
greatly to the splendor of the scene. Several alba- 
trosses have been flying about the ship, and, though 
she goes eight or ten miles an hour, they make 
nothing whatever of flying around her, sailing off a 
mile or two on each side and astern, and then coming 
up again. It is wonderful with what ease they fly. 
They will go a mile without any apparent motion of 
their wings, and that too in the face of a gale, that 
sent us ploughing up the waves at the rate of ten 
or eleven miles an hour. In fact they fly better 
when there is a gale than in a calm. It is very 
hard for them to rise off the water, unless there is 
some wind going, but if there is any wind, they 
turn their heads to it, and are speedily in the air. 
They will skim over the water when it is rough with 



74 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

waves six or eight feet high, and never wet a feather. 
The captain says they have several joints in their 
wings, (which are prodigiously long,) and when the 
wind is strong, they "take in a reef and shorten 
sail." I used to think they were all of one size 
and colour, but they are not. One that I saw was 
of "the first magnitude," — wings extending ten feet 
or more. There are others of the second, third, and 
fourth magnitudes. They do not appear, however, 
nearly so large when seen flying as when on deck. 
Some are white, some are dusky brown, some are 
brown on the backs of the wings and white on the 
body above and beneath, and on the lower part of 
the wings. Some have a dark belt or ring round 
the neck, and some are somewhat mottled. I have 
not seen any other varieties of colour. One old 
brown fellow flew so close to the ship's stern, that 
I could see the white of his eyes. 

Monday, March 14th. Preached yesterday on 
Phil. iii. 1 — 11. But it being quite a calm, the 
swell caused the ship to roll so much, and the rudder 
creaked so constantly, as it always does in a calm, 
that I had not much satisfaction in the exercises. 
Bible class as usual. Mr. B. always attends, though 
he takes no active part. I find this quite an inter- 
esting and profitable service. 

The weather, after being very cold for three or 
four days, began to moderate yesterday morning, 
and now is very comfortable. The wind is from 
the north; which in this part of the world is our 
warm wind. I think the sunsets in this part of this 
hemisphere are different from those in the United 
States, but I have not yet observed them sufficiently 
to state wherein that difference consists. It would 
be endless to describe every sunset, to say nothing 
of the impossibility of giving you any idea of sights 
which I can find no words in any language I know 
to describe. 

It is just eight weeks to-day since leaving New 
York. 1 hardly feel as if I ought to say, "since 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 75 

leaving home" because it seems as if I had no right 
to say "home." Psa. cxix. 19. 

Yesterday evening as I was looking np at the 
stars, one of the sailors, a young man of very 
intelligent countenance and pleasing manner, with 
whom I had exchanged a few words several times 
before, came up to me and began to speak of the 
stars; then of the delight one finds in knowledge. 
This led me to remark, what a proof that was of 
the immortality of the soul, that it was constantly 
expanding in capacity. He then asked me in a very 
serious manner, what I thought of the question, 
" Are any of the heathen saved who never heard of 
Christ?" I told him I thought not, — speaking of 
adult heathen; and mentioned several passages in 
Romans, that induced me to think as I did. This 
led him to say, that he had been in the habit of read- 
ing the Bible every day on this voyage, but he found 
a great many things he could not make out or un- 
derstand. I offered him any assistance in my power, 
for which he seemed very grateful, and said he would 
avail himself of it. He then said, "What is it to 
be religious? A young lady asked me when in 
New York last time — \ Are you religious V I said 
6 Of course I am. I believe in Christ, — that he is 
the Son of God, — that he did live on the earth, and 
that he died to save men's souls' — was I right in 
saying I am religious ?' ' : I told him that what he 
believed was not all that was necessary ; that many 
bad men, and even the devils, could say they be- 
lieved that much. "That's true," said he, with a 
good deal of emphasis. I then went on to explain 
what true faith was, but much to my regret the 
watch was soon changed and he had to leave me. 
I hope to see him again, however, before long. I 
could not help thinking at the time, how little one 
can tell of what is passing in the minds of others. 
A few weeks ago, as I was thinking over the char- 
acter of the men on board, I had set it down in my 
mind, that this young man would be the least likely 



76 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

to think of religion of almost all on board. There 
seemed to be a sort of "don't care about it" air in 
him. I regret that I have very few opportunities 
of much intercourse with the men. There are 
almost always several of them together. Indeed I 
scarcely ever see one alone, except the man at the 
wheel; and it is against the rules to talk with him: 
consequently I have few means of influencing them 
except on the Sabbath. The ship is so well sup- 
plied with tracts, through Mr. Gillespie's care, that 
I find but little use for mine. 

Sabbath, March 20th. A fair pleasant day to 
commence with, but soon clouded over. Preached 
on 2 Tim. iii. 16; but as there was some wind, and 
a heavy sea, which there is constantly here, the miz- 
zen-mast creaked dreadfully, and I had little satis- 
faction in the services. Besides, I saw it was grow- 
ing darker, and the men were looking out occasion- 
ally, as if a squall were coming. The services were 
no sooner over than they were called to the ropes to 
take in some of the sails. So we had it, showers and 
sunshine, the rest of the day. About 9 a. m. the 
breeze freshened, so that we went on ten miles an 
hour. This has continued till the present time, Mon- 
day, p. M. About dark, things looked so squally, 
that it was thought necessary to send down the 
main royal-yard — the fore and mizzen-royals had 
been sent down several days ago — and we had showers 
and squalls till I went to bed, after ten p. M. Going 
out about seven a. m., I found that the greater part 
of the sails were furled, and we were driving on under 
close-reefecl topsails. The ship looked very bare with 
so many of her sails taken in, and as the sea was 
high, she rolled more than I ever knew her to do 
before. The wind whistled through the rigging, and 
our ship dashed on like a frightened bird ; but every- 
thing is snug and secure, and as far as we can see, 
there is no reason for alarm. Several little birds 
are flying about, and apparently enjoying the com- 
motion of the water. As I looked at them, several 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 77 

times to-day, I thought of the words of our Saviour, 
" one of them shall not fall on the ground without 
your Father. Fear not therefore ; ye are of more 
value than many sparrows." It is pleasant to be 
thus reminded of the presence of our all-gracious 
God. 

Tuesday, March 22nd. The waves were even 
higher than yesterday, and were much broken, so 
that to look out astern, or off from the side of the 
ship, there seemed to be a large number of rocky 
hills in the sea, and the ship was making her way 
over and between them. I have seen nothing so 
grand since the voyage commenced. The waves 
would mount up twenty feet or more, and burst 
into a wide sheet of foam; while still further off, the 
white foaming tops of others would lift themselves 
up in the horizon, and the constant dashing and 
roaring of the waves combined together to fill the 
mind with exalted ideas of Him, who holds the 
waters in the hollow of his hands, and stilleth 
the noise of their waves. "An undevout astronomer 
is mad," but surely a careless sailor is worse : with 
the tokens of God's power and presence everywhere 
around him, one would think he could not move a 
muscle without thinking of his Maker and Preserver. 
Yet alas! he does not like to retain God in his 
knowledge. But though the scene was grand, it 
was not very comfortable on board. Such constant 
rolling and tossing and pitching of the ship, made 
it almost impossible to study; and it was very 
fatiguing either to sit, stand, or walk. To lie down 
was useless, unless one was bolstered up on both 
sides. 

I think the sailing of the albatross is one of the 
most beautiful sights I have ever seen, and when se- 
veral of them are together, it is really grand. The 
other day I saw eight of the largest size close together, 
and they flew up and down, and one way and the 
other, and in circles, and crossed each other's paths 
so rapidly, that the eye could hardly follow them in 



78 MEMOIK OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

tlieir flight. They move with such perfect ease, and 
have such complete command over their motions — 
at one time darting off like an arrow from a bow full 
bent, then slowly rising in the air and floating almost 
motionless in the sky, then careering round the ship 
when at her full speed, as if contemning her compar- 
ative sluggishness, — I have watched them by the 
hour. The beauty of their motions amply compen- 
sates for what may be called the ungracefulness of 
their bodies. I do not think their shape handsome, 
though, doubtless, it is the best for their modes of 
life. How pleasant it is for the Christian to think, 
when he looks at these birds, that they are not 
beings in which he need feel no interest; they are 
made by his best Friend, and he sees in them new 
proofs of the wisdom and goodness of God. It is 
transporting to be able to say, "My Father made 
them all." 

Saturday, 26th. Last night we had a strong wind, 
which kept the ship steady. This afternoon the 
wind gently died away; for an hour we had a per- 
fect calm. The ocean, however, even in the most 
perfect calms, is never still. The surface may be- 
come glassy, but there is a constant heaving; and 
commonly, in calms, we see what Edwards calls 
" continual, infinitely various, successive changes of 
unevenness on the surface of the water." The sun 
is setting in a cloudy sky, and we shall probably 
have a gale in a very short time. 

Tuesday, April 5th. Strong breeze and very 
heavy swell. The sea is "troubled, and it cannot 
rest," but the sun is shining down brightly, and we 
speed on our way across the foaming waves. A 
shoal of porpoises were playing about the ship this 
afternoon. The vessel was going nine miles an 
hour, and dashing the foam away in immense 
volumes, but they played about under her bows and 
in the foam, as if she were at anchor. The mates 
tried to harpoon some of them, but did not succeed. 
The harpoon went into one of them, and he was 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 



79 



hauled several feet out of water, but the iron did 
not hold, and he got off. Sailors say the porpoises 
play about that way before a gale of wind. Saw 
also an albatross sailing up very high in the air; 
another sign. Quite a flock of albatrosses showed 
themselves a little after sunset. I saw seven of 
the largest size flying close together; but it was too 
cold to stand and watch them. 

Thursda}^ April 7th. Yesterday was a very plea- 
sant day, though rather cool; sun shone all day, 
and a moderate wind carried us gently on. To-day 
the wind is strong, and in fact is increasing so that 
we have had a reef taken in each of the topsails, 
and all the sails above furled. The wind is so 
nearly ahead, that we cannot keep our course, but 
are going more to the northward than is desirable. 
It is surprising to see in how many different direc- 
tions one can go with the same wind, or how one 
may make winds that blow in opposite directions 
send him forward in the same course. This is done 
by shifting the yards, so that the sails may obtain 
the full benefit of the different breezes. Thus, one 
going from west to east, as we are, can proceed with 
any one of the winds jv* 

represented by the ar- 
rows A, B, C, &c, to 
G. Of these winds, 
C and E are the best, 
because they strike all 
the sails, while a wind 
from D would not. Pi- 
lot boats can go with 
the wind H and J, i. e. 
within "four points;" 
ships cannot go with- 
in "six points." Each ° 
of the quadrants above is supposed to be divided 
into eight points, as in the mariner's compass. 
The wind we have to-day is Gr, or S. S. E. I'm at 
a loss to know how you will receive this disquisi- 



A? 


AN 


L. A 









V 



V 



80 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

tion. If you did not know these things before, I 
take it for granted you will be glad to learn them ; 
but if you did, then I beg pardon for troubling you 
on the subject. 

Saturday, April 9th. After rather a restless night, 
owing to the ship's rolling so much, I went out in 
the morning and found all sails set, and studding- 
sails out ; so we are " out of the woods now," with 
a fair prospect before us. This has been a very 
pleasant day, though our course has been rather 
slower than usual. However, " we are glad, because 
we be quiet," and hope soon to be brought to our 
" desired haven." 

Sabbath, April 10th. Preached on John iii. 3 : the 
nature and necessity of regeneration ; and was very 
attentively listened to. The mate told me after- 
wards he was talking with "Boston Bill" about my 
sermon, and asked him if he did not think there 
was a great deal of truth in it. He answered, " he 
believed there was ;" but he quoted from my sermon 
the remark, that Christians would try to do good to 
others, and then said, "Now I've been with men 
who said they were Christians, and yet they were 
trying to injure others all the time." This is one 
of the many excuses men make for continuing in 
impenitence. Another that has equal weight with 
the better educated part of our company is that 
"Christians are always quarrelling among them- 
selves." I think I shall prepare a sermon on the 
text, "And they all began with one consent to make 
excuse." Bible class as usual in the afternoon ; so 
pass away our Sabbaths. I sometimes wish I could 
again go up to the sanctuary with the great congre- 
gation ; but I find that that God, who is " the confi- 
dence of all the ends of the earth," is also the confi- 
dence " of them that are far off upon the sea." I have 
taken "the wings of the morning and dwell in ihe 
uttermost parts of the sea." Yet, even here "his 
hand leads me, and his right hand upholds me." 
What a glorious thing it is to serve such a God ! to 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 81 

be able to say, " This God is our God for ever and 
ever !" 

Tuesday, April 12th. Pleasant weather still. A 
sail in sight about two o'clock ; soon came near 
enough to make out that she was a whaler. She 
ran up the star-spangled banner, and we the same ; 
presently she crossed our bows, and coming, or 
rather falling nearer, ran up her flag again — a sign 
that she wanted to speak; so we took in all our 
light sails, and put the yards round so as to make 
the ship go slower, and she came up astern but in 
speaking distance. Asked us where we were from, 
and if we had any papers to spare. Captain 
answered, "Yes," and we held on till her boat 
could come alongside. They speedily lowered one, 
and half a dozen men jumped down into it, and came 
dancing over the waves to us. Their boat was 
sometimes almost hidden by the waves, but they 
did not seem to mind them at all. They were soon 
alongside, and their mate and a couple of men came 
up on deck. They were rough-looking customers 
compared with our crew, though the latter were in 
their every-day dress. It was the ship Palladium, 
of New Bedford ; out eight months ; had 1000 bar- 
rels of oil from sixteen whales ; had not seen land 
for four months ; had been south among the icebergs ; 
were going to New Holland soon; crew of thirty 
men. I asked the mate if they had any books. 
" Well, yes, some ; but what we have, have been 
read pretty often." Captain gave him two or three 
dozen of newspapers, and I hastily wrapped up a 
handful of Tracts, and Doddridge's "Rise and Pro- 
gress," and Pike's " Religion and Eternal Life," and 
with a silent prayer for a blessing on them, gave 
them to him. He then asked the captain if he 
could spare them any vegetables ; and got a keg full 
of potatoes and onions, &c, and then off again. They 
have men constantly aloft, one at the fore and one at 
the main-mast-head, who are relieved every two 



82 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

hours. In this way they saw us several hours 
before we saw them. 

Friday, 15th March. A strong breeze was 
blowing all day yesterday, and had not the news 
been almost too good to be true, we should have 
thought it the south-east-trade. However, it con- 
tinues to-day, and there can be little doubt that we 
have the looked-for wind. Thus we are going gaily 
on our course, without having to beat about among 
the variable winds that are commonly found between 
the regular western winds in lat 40° and the trade- 
wind, which commonly is taken in lat. 28° South. 
We had anticipated being delayed thus for three or 
four days, whereas we had no sooner lost the 
western winds, than this wind took us up. These 
are very curious things. In lat. 40° north and south, 
and for several degrees on each side, the wind 
blows from the west almost constantly ; from about 
30° to 10° or 5°, north and south, they blow from 
the north-east and south-east respectively ; these 
are the north-east and south-east trades. On each 
side of the equator for a few degrees, variable winds 
prevail ; and commonly between the western winds 
and the trade-winds there is a space of several 
degrees where the winds vary a good deal. It has 
been by these regular winds that we have made the 
greatest part of our voyage. 

What grand things these winds are ! Just to 
think of one breeze blowing steadily for clays 
together over a space of a thousand or fifteen 
hundred miles, ruffling the surface of the old ocean, 
and playing with a giant strength among his hoary 
locks ! And then when the rain comes down in 
wide-spread torrents, and the voice of the thunder 
sounds along the waves, how does the grandeur of 
the scene put to shame our bellows and our 
watering-pots, our mimic experiments, and our 
boasted inventions for controlling the laws of nature ! 
Who can talk of the greatness of man, when sur- 
rounded by such proofs of the omnipresent power 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 83 

of God ? True, it is a wonderful thing to see a little 
ship urge onward her course among such mighty 
elements, and some may say, " Behold here the 
power of man ! superior to the winds and the 
waves." But who filled man's heart with the 
wisdom to invent and guide a vessel over such 
abysses, amid such contending forces ? He may 
laugh when it is calm, but when storms arise, and 
he is " at his wits' end," he will acknowledge that 
there is a God who reigneth in the earth ; and, 
blessed be his name ! he is " Our Pather" 

Saturday night, ten o'clock. We are now di- 
rectly on the opposite side of the globe from you, 
or within one degree of it, so that with you it is 
ten, A. M. Saturday night, and the Sabbath draws 
near. If I could spend every week as pleasantly 
as I have spent the past, I could rejoice in long 
life; but it is pleasant to think, that there re- 
maineth — after all the privileges of this world — 
still, "there remaineth, over and above them all, a 
rest — a aa66atuc>(.iog 9 — a keeping of Sabbath, for 
the people of God." Best is sweet; and 0, to 
think of rest from sin, rest from temptation, rest 
from disappointment, rest from sorrow, rest in the 
peaceful haven after long toiling over the uncertain, 
restless ocean, and long struggling with adverse 
winds ! Surely it is well we have thus to labour and 
to suffer, it will make the end more joyful. Yet it 
is hard at times to resist the desire to " fly away 
and be at rest." But it is well that the all wise 
God holds our times in his hands. He will give 
the signal when it is the best time to cease from 
labour, and therefore — 

" Here my spirit waiting stands 
TiU He shall bid it fly." 

Sabbath, April 17th. A dull, rainy Sabbath, with 
a light wind; pleasant enough, however, in other 
respects. Saw a flock of flying-fish, the first I have 
seen for several weeks. Cleared off beautifully 



84 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

before sunset, and the trade wind came back again 
strongly. 

Preached on Luke xiv. 18, "And they all began 
with one consent to make excuse." Spoke of the 
principal excuses men make for not repenting and 
believing: as, 1. "I have not time." 2. "Religion 
is a gloomy thing, and a hard and mean service." 
3. " The Bible is so hard to be understood, and some 
of its doctrines, as election, &c, so absurd." 4. 
" Christians are hypocrites, and there are so many 
sects, so that i there is no truth in religion." 5. 
" There's time enough yet — I do not mean to die so." 
The attention generally was better than I have yet 
seen among the men, and several of them I observed 
watching me very closely all the time. I understood 
they had rather an argument about the sermon after- 
wards in the forecastle, though I did not hear the 
purport of it. Yet alas ! it seems almost hopeless to 
preach to these people. Like the prophet of old, I 
seem to be "in the midst of the valley of bones 
and, lo, they are very dry. Can these dry bones 
live ? Lord God, thou knowest." Yet in his name 
would I "prophesy upon these bones, and say unto 
them, ye dry bones, hear ye the word of the 
Lord." And I would also "prophesy to the winds, 
and say, Come from the four winds, breath, and 
breathe upon these slain." I wonder if Christians 
at home, who know that a missionary is on his way 
to the heathen, ever think of praying that he may 
be a blessing to the almost heathenish sailors, as he 
sails with them week after week. How little suc- 
cess would commonly attend the minister's labour 
at home, if he had not the pi^yers of his people to 
assist him ! Yet in cases of this kind, the missionary 
most commonly stands alone, and has to preach to 
some who scarcely know what are the very first 
principles of Christianity — to some who, like one 
of our crew, " have not had a Bible for many years, 
nor heard a prayer for seven years ;" to some who, 
like another, " know not that there is any difference 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 85 

between the "faith the devils have," and the faith 
that " works by love, and purifies the heart ;" to some 
who, like another, think that "if a man goes to 
church, he is safe enough,' 7 and that "those 
Christians are mistaken, who say that men are natu- 
rally averse to religion;" to men rendered reckless 
of danger by long familiarity with it; who will 
curse and swear when out in a little boat on a 
raging sea, seeking if they may find a comrade who 
had just fallen overboard in a dark night. This is 
a fact that occurred in this ship on the last 
voyage! — to say nothing of the evil habits they 
acquire on shore, and the evil examples they there 
see, and of the effects these must have upon them. 
They have long felt that "no man cared for their 
souls," and they make this an additional excuse for 
continuing as they are. Surely it is " casting bread 
upon the waters" to preach to such. Yet God is 
all-powerful, and some things that have come to my 
knowledge of late, make me think that the Holy 
Spirit has not yet left this ship's company to 
themselves. 

Tuesday, April 19th. Warm sultry day, and 
several heavy showers. What is the use of rain 
on the sea? why should the water, after having 
been so carefully drawn up by the sun, be poured 
down again to the place from which it came ? Surely 
this was all foreseen by him who causes the rain to 
fall, and he had some design in it. It is hardly a 
sufficient answer to say, that these showers at sea 
are of great service to sailors, for vast quantities fall 
where no ships are, and fell for thousands of years 
before ships sailed over the ocean. Yet surely 
they are of use. I have been puzzling my brain 
for a long time to find out the final cause, as theo- 
logians say, of this phenomenon, but I fear with very 
little success. Perhaps fresh water is as necessary 
for the inhabitants of the sea, as salt is for us along 
with our food. Perhaps those winds which, after 
sweeping for so many thousands of miles over the 



86 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

salt water, and in such hot climates as this, need to 
be purified and to have their unwholesome qualities 
thus acquired removed, by having the rain come 
and pass through them, filtering away, if I may 
use such a figure, their impurities, before they blow 
upon the land or influence at ail the air men breathe. 
Who knows what influences are necessary to preserve 
the atmosphere of the earth in its purity? — and 
what part of those influences is excited by the rains 
that fall on land, and at sea, and "in the wilderness 
where no man is?" But this is one of the "things 
that are too wonderful for me." Men pass over 
such things oftentimes as uninteresting, because of 
their ignorance of what is really in them. So it is 
in regard to everything. We are often told that 
the fife of such and such men is uninteresting, void 
of incidents, and dull. Professors of rhetoric, and 
critics, tell us that only great subjects and the lives 
of great men, furnish suitable themes for an epic 
poem. But surely the life of every man, however 
poor and mean he may be, could we but know it all, 
would furnish such a subject for an epic poem as 
would astonish even Homer and Milton. There 
would be the secret counsels of God respecting him 
from all eternity; the unnumbered and almost 
the innumerable incidents in his birth and in his 
after life, when good and evil angels watched over 
and influenced him, and when the providence of 
God was busied about him ; the narrow escapes from 
evil ; the woful falls, or the triumphant victory ; all 
the feelings in his own mind, and their varied 
causes ; the plans of others with respect to him, and 
their influence over him; the effects of his actions, 
outlasting his own life, and reaching far off amidst 
almost infinite ramifications to the end of time ; the 
various crises of his life; and the endless realities 
of the eternal . state. What created intellect could 
fully comprehend, or rightly describe, all these? 
God knoweth them all. We hardly ever even think 
of them, and yet our whole life is spent in influencing 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 87 

and being influenced by such wonderful beings. 
Verily this is a fearful and wonderful thing. 

About sunset the ship was very nearly becalmed ; 
her motion was barely perceptible ; and I was leaning 
over the gangway, looking down at the little bubbles 
on the deep blue sea. While thus engaged, my atten- 
tion was arrested by a number of little insects, no 
longer than the gnat you sometimes see sporting in 
the evening air. They moved about over the calm 
surface of the water with great rapidity, just as the 
little water-bugs and spiders play about in the eddy 
of a brook in summer. Where do these little 
creatures come from? whither do they go? where 
shelter themselves when storms arise ? Or are they, 
like ourselves, mere creatures of a day, floating 
about on the fathomless ocean of eternity, one 
moment sportive and busy, and cherishing great 
hopes, the next swallowed up by the dark waters, 
and seen no more ? * 

It was a lovely night, calm and clear, a few clouds 
in the sky ; but the moon shone down brightly, and 
the large stars beamed out, like a queen in her 
royal robes with her maids of honour around her. 
Underneath was the boundless sea, quiet and 
smooth — "a great still mirror-sea," and the moon- 
beams and starlight were reflected back from the 
surface of the water. But how different the direct 
and the reflected light! The one came down and 
gave a clear image of the heavenly bodies ; thus we 
see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 
But the other was distorted and broken by the 
constant swell of even that calm sea; so it is with 
all our views of things in the invisible heavens. 
If our faith can only gaze steadfastly thereon, our 
hearts will burn within us; but the moment we 
turn our sight to earthly things our vision becomes 
confused, and we see no more clearly; at best it is 
but "through a glass darkly." 1 could hardly 

* "Light mortal, how you walk your light life minuet, over bottom- 
less abysses, divided from you by a film." — Carlyle. 



88 MEMOIK OF WALTER M. LOWME. 

think of going to bed; again and again as I turned 
off to retire, a new appearance of beauty or a 
brightly shining star arrested my attention, and 
kept me under the open sky. Once the moon was 
slightly obscured by a white cloud, that passed like 
a veil over her face ; but that only made her more 
beautiful, for immediately a triple circle was formed 
around her, of white, bright orange, and pale green. 
Saturday, April 23d. Raining almost all the night. 
Towards four o'clock this morning I awoke ; it was 
pouring down heavily. Several very loud claps of 
thunder, that came roaring and reverberating over 
the waters, reminded me of the words of the 
Psalmist : 

" The voice of the Lord is upon the waters : 
The God of glory thundereth ; 
The Lord is upon many waters. 
The voice of the Lord is powerful ; 
The voice of the Lord is full of majesty." 

April 27. In the Straits of Sandy. Altogether 
it has been an exciting and interesting day. The 
sight of inhabited land, and those inhabitants being 
heathen ; the effort to enter the straits, and failure ; 
the mortification of seeing others pass us with a fair 
breeze, while we, not half a mile off, were becalmed ; 
then the pleasure of catching up and passing again; 
the sight of so many ships, and of the native prows ; 
the smell of land ; the sight of noble mountains ; the 
preparing of letters for home; and the lifting up of 
the heart in gratitude to God, that through so many 
dangers, and along so lengthened a course, he has led 
us and fed us, — surely here will I raise an Ebenezer, 
for hitherto the Lord hath helped me. And then to 
think, that in precisely one year from the day I was 
first licensed to preach the gospel, I was permitted 
to see the land of nations sitting in darkness, to some 
of whom at least I hope to preach the gospel ! Is it 
not a day much to be remembered ? The host of the 
enemies are numerous and powerful, but I may well 
use the words of king Asa and say ; "Lord, it is no- 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 89 

thing with thee to help, whether with many or with 
them that have no power ; help us, oh Lord our God ; 
for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against 
this multitude. Oh Lord, thou art our God; let not 
man prevail against thee." 

But if the day had so many things to be remem- 
bered, the evening was still more magnificent.. About 
sunset, we were about two miles from shore, directly 
off from the Karang mountains. We were gliding 
swiftly over the smooth waters; nine other ships 
of different nations, English, American, and Dutch, 
were in sight on the western side, and six of them 
in full view. On the other side, a dozen Malay 
prows were hugging the shore. Some shoals were 
to be passed over, which required close watching: 
dark and thick clouds, many and large, were over- 
head, but most of them tinged of the deepest orange 
and red by the sun's rays; high mountains, five or 
six in number, loomed up in various directions, and 
above the highest, Crockatoa, was the darkest mass 
of clouds ; but beyond all these was the evening star, 
"mildly beaming on the forehead" of the calm blue 
sky, diversified and enriched as it was with the glo- 
rious sunset tints. I looked and gazed with almost 
speechless, certainly with an unutterable admiration ; 
and as the bright colours faded, the ardour of my 
thoughts subsided to a quiet comparison of the va- 
ried scene before me, with what may perhaps be 
the course of my future life. What is before, I know 
not ; but I thought that a swift, though perhaps a long 
voyage over the uncertain sea of life, was before me ; 
that I should have fellow-labourers, perhaps of differ- 
ent nations, striving together to benefit the poor hea- 
then whose representatives we here saw on the same 
sea with ourselves ; that secret dangers might be in 
my way, which it would require prudence and care 
to avoid ; that many sorrows are impending over me, 
but they shall be tinged and beautified with the 
favour of God; and thus the 

8* 



90 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

" Clouds I so much dread, 
Are big with mercies, and shall break 
In blessings on my head ;" 

that difficulties are before me like mountains, and 
over the greatest and the least of them, it may be, 
the most impenetrable darkness now overhangs ; but 
that above them all, shines brightly the star of hope ; 
and, having at last surmounted them all, the peaceful 
and glorious rest of heaven will open upon my 
delighted view. However I may be mistaken in 
some of these anticipations, I trust and pray that the 
last may prove true. 

After dark my attention was called to the many 
fires kindled along the coast, probably by the natives, 
catching fish. They looked very cheerful, after 
having been for so long without seeing any traces 
of human beings, except those in our own little 
vessel. 

Walked out with my umbrella; saw some men 
catching fish with a long net, but they caught only 
about two gallons full of them, and all very small, 
none, I suppose, more than an inch and a half long, 
shaped mostly like sun-fish, and coloured like silver- 
fish ; I should suppose that they are very delicate 
eating. There were a large number of children 
playing on the beach, either entirely or nearly 
naked, and all bareheaded and barefooted; their 
greatest amusement seemed to consist in pursuing 
and catching a small crab, that ran with exceeding 
swiftness and burrowed in holes in the sand. I 
was surprised to see how very quick it could run — 
much faster than they could. When they had 
chased one to its hole, they would sit down and 
try to dig it out, if the hole was not too deep. I 
began to pick up some small shells on the beach, 
and among the stones at the water's edge, and half 
a dozen of them gathered round me, and began 
talking, and asking me questions. Some of them 
were quite good looking, and had very beautiful 
teeth ; but they will soon spoil them by chewing 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 91 

betel nut, as all the grown-up people, men and 
women, do here, at least among the Malays ; I did 
not observe whether the Chinese use it or not. I 
did not understand a word they said ; but they were 
evidently in great spirits, and very good natured ; 
so I talked away to them, asking questions, and 
making remarks, and laughing and talking with as 
great glee as any of them. They helped me to pick 
shells, crying out " Gubboosh !" "Yes !" "Karang !" 
&c. I felt almost sorry to part with them, and 
having nothing else to give them as a reward for 
their services, I took out my pin-cushion and gave 
them a pin a piece. They were quite eager to get 
them, and stood round me in a half-circle, holding 
up their little hands and chattering away. They 
waited very patiently, each till his own turn came, 
and followed me some little distance afterwards, till 
I turned and waved my hand — and then off they 
went. 

Sabbath morning, May 1st. When I went out 
before breakfast, we were away out in the Java 
Sea, and the only land in sight was the high peaks 
of Rajah Bassa, which must have been seventy 
miles off. During the day, saw a ship to the east- 
ward that looked very much like the Oneida. A 
pleasant breeze all day, and tolerably good progress ; 
out of sight of land all day. Sea about thirteen 
fathoms deep ; it varies from eight to thirty fathoms, 
all the way from Java to the island of Banou ; is 
generally about eleven to fifteen fathoms. 

Preached on Luke xxiii. 33 ; " There they cruci- 
fied him." On the death of Jesus Christ. Was 
favoured with great fluency and good attention. In 
the afternoon, one of the men came and asked me 
to lend him a Greek Testament. He said he could 
read it. I was just preparing for my Bible class, 
and could not talk with him about it then. I got it 
for him, and he took it off to the forecastle, and 
seemed to be reading it very busily for some time. 
In a day or two afterwards, he came back with a 



92 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

translation he had made from the Greek to Latin, 
of Matt. ii. 1 — 12, which was very well done. He 
had been at some German schools and universities, 
and understands more languages than any one on 
board; Greek, Latin, English, French, Danish, 
German ; yet he is not more than twenty two years 
old. 

Monday, May 9th. Preached on John xvi. 7, to 
an attentive audience, though they were not so 
much interested apparently, as they were for two or 
three late days. It is hard at times to repress 
unbelieving fears, or to avoid giving way to the 
suggestions of the enemy, that " it is of no use to 
preach to such people." Truly, it is like casting 
bread upon the waters. How many difficulties of 
the same kind must I experience in China ! My 
heart sinks within me at times, and then again I am 
encouraged. But, so far, I have had no desire to 
go back, but constantly a willingness to go forward 
and see what God woidd have me to do. Looking 
over the account of Dr. Morrison, in the Chronicle, 
I could hardly tell what to think. I cannot plod 
away as he did at a language. 

We hope to be at the end of our voyage in two 
weeks, and you will perhaps think I must be very 
glad of it. I can hardly say, however, that I am. For 
a few days after leaving Angier I did wish pretty 
heartily that we were safely moored ; but now I 
feel almost sorry to think of ending the voyage so 
soon. Having been now nearly four months at sea, 
I feel quite at home ; and I know, on arriving in 
China, I shall then again be a stranger, with respon- 
sible duties to perform, and no fellow-labourer to 
counsel with in regard to them. My faith and 
hopes fluctuate considerably in regard to the future. 
When I cast my cares upon the Lord, I can wait 
with calmness and peace, knowing that he will 
bring it to pass ; but too often I suffer my mind to 
dwell upon the future, without reflecting that my 
strength is all from on high, and the consequence 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. \)6 

almost invariably is, that I am disheartened by the 
prospect. When shall I learn to live by faith, and 
not by sight ? I am sad, and almost sick at heart, 
to-night, for I have been thinking of difficulties, and 
of myself. But that it would be wrong, I could 
wish, " Oh, that I had wings like a dove, for then 
would I fly away, and be at rest." 

Monday, May 16th. Preached yesterday on 
Luke xviii. 19, to a very attentive audience. I 
have rarely seen in America a more attentive and 
well-behaved congregation, than our sailors here. 
Yet the truths they hear from me are as plain and 
evangelical, and as much calculated to bring down 
one's high thoughts of himself, as I know how to 
make them. I believe they sometimes think I 
preach hard doctrines, yet they are very respectful. 
Yesterday there was hardly an eye turned from me 
for the whole time, though I was not conscious of 
being more than usually interesting or fervent. But, 
alas ! " who hath believed our report, and to whom 
is the arm of the Lord revealed?" "They came 
before me as the Lord's people come ; they heark- 
ened to my words, but their heart goeth after idols." 
How can any one think that almighty power is not 
necessary to change the hearts of men? How can 
any one take credit to himself, if success attend his 
efforts? I lent my "Holy War" to the sailmaker 
the other day. He was greatly pleased with it, and 
was telling me last night how much he liked it. I 
asked him if he understood it all. "Oh, yes, sir! 
it's very plain ; and if it were not, I could under- 
stand it, by overhauling my Bible a little." He 
seems to be a good man, and I am always sure of 
having at least one attentive hearer on the Sabbath. 
I believe he never takes his eyes off* me while I am 
preaching. 

Friday, May 20th. A fine breeze for two days 
past has carried us on finely, and if it holds out, we 
shall probably be at our "desired haven" in a week. 
Consequently all are in fine spirits, and it is quite 



94 MEMOIR OP WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

amusing to see how eager every one is to hear the 
latitude. For my own part, I cannot say I am 
anxious either way. The responsibility of my sta- 
tion, and of the steps I may take at Macao, some- 
times weighs me down a good deal ; and, like Jere- 
miah, I say, " Ah, Lord Sod ! I cannot speak ; for 
I am a child." With a very slight change, I find 
Solomon's prayer very appropriate for myself. " Oh 
Lord God ! thou hast made me a messenger to a 
people like the dust of the earth for multitude ; give 
me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out 
and come in before this people : for who can instruct 
this people that is so great?" But the promises to 
Moses, and Joshua, and Jeremiah, and Paul, have 
sustained me, and the recollection of the providence 
of Grod in times past, cheers me, and I am going 
forward. A great work is before me, and its great- 
ness appals me at times ; but the reflection of the 
pendulum, "I have to tick so many thousand times, 
that I cannot count them all, but then I have a 
moment for every tick," encourages me again. 

Monday, May 23d. Preached yesterday what I 
suppose is my last sermon on shipboard, from 1 Cor. 
i. 2o, 24, with as much fluency and feeling, and as 
good attention as at any time yet. The seed is 
sown : how or when it shall spring up, or what 
shall be the final results, I know not. Sometimes 
I hope it may spring up and produce much fruit; 
but I never think so, when I recollect the unworthi- 
ness of the instrument by whom it was dispensed. 

Tuesday, May 24th. Had our last Bible class, 
probably, this morning. I have been writing up 
various things; among others, a preface to my jour- 
nal. 

Thursday, May 26th. Yesterday was a pretty 
gloomy day. We had gone on so finely during the 
night, that we expected to have been at Macao by 
noon. About six o'clock, however, a. m., the wind 
increased to a gale ; had to double-reef the topsails. 
There was a heavy sea, and the ship groaned, and 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 95 

rolled, and pitched after the fashion of the Cape of 
Good Hope. We had had so much fine weather, 
and so smooth a sea for six weeks before, that the 
change took us all aback, and all the passengers were 
quite sea-sick. About eight o'clock, A. M., yesterday, 
we saw land ahead, probably the great Ladrone 
Island, a few miles south of Macao ; but just then 
the gale came out dead ahead, and we had to put 
back to sea. Two or three other ships, that were 
nearer in than we, had to do the same. Wore ship, 
and stood in for land again at noon; saw it very 
distinctly about four, p. m. ; but the wind being still 
ahead, had to put off to sea again, and soon lost 
sight of it. We are now trying again to go in, but 
the wind is unfavorable. It may be several days 
yet before we can get in, though we are not proba- 
bly six hours' fair sailing from Macao. " The worst 
coast," says the captain, "in the world; nobody 
knows when we will get in, and yet, I dare say, the 
gale does not extend fifty miles.' I could not help 
thinking how often we see such things in common 
life. Just as we are on the point of acquiring what 
we long labour and hope for, we are disappointed, 
and again made to urge on our rough and stormy 
course. What a blessed place heaven will be, where 
" there is no more sea ! " no more storms ; no more 
wearisome calms; no treacherous shoals; no disap- 
pointments. It is the haven of eternal rest, and 
doubly sweet, because entered "through much trib- 
ulation." 

China Sea, May 26th, 1842. 

My Dear Mother — So here it is, the long pro- 
mised, and I flatter myself, the long expected jour- 
nal. Before you decide that it is too long, just 
imagine yourself in my situation, with a charge to 
tell you all I do, and see and hear, seeing and 
hearing a great many things new and strange, or 
amusing; and having hardly any connection with 
home, or home folks, except this journal. As 



96 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

long as I was writing it, I seemed to be holding in- 
tercourse with you; sometimes sitting down for a 
long chat, sometimes running in to tell you a little 
story, sometimes pointing out a splendid scene on 
the sky, sometimes giving you a picture of social 
life on shipboard, — was it any wonder that my pen 
sometimes loved to linger on the paper, when it 
thus brought up before me so many tender, and so 
many pleasant associations ; and when it caused me 
to think the oftener of one — yes, of many whom, 
though I love, I dare not expect to see any more 
on earth? 

If you find it badly written in some places, you 
must consider, that it was sometimes so damp, that 
my paper seemed to be almost wet; and especially 
the ship often rolled so prodigiously, that in my 
efforts to maintain my own position, I had enough 
to do without minding whether I wrote backhand or 
slopehand, or whether the strokes went perpendicu- 
larly or horizontally. I think, if you had seen me 
sometimes, laying my writing desk in my berth, 
bracing my foot against the sides of my room, and 
holding on with one hand to the berth board, while 
I wrote with the other, and after all getting knocked, 
now against the berth, and now against the partition 
of my room, you would think I did pretty well. 
This is no fanciful description, for such things hap- 
pened to me again and again, when off the Cape of 
Good Hope. 

As to publication of extracts — No. I set my 
foot down there. Keep it out of the way of that 
little omnivorous monster that they keep in the Mis- 
sion House — [the Missionary Chronicle.] There is 
not a line of it that was written for publication, 
and very few lines in it that I think fit for publication, 
They are mere unstudied and unlaboured accounts of 
what happened to myself, in a voyage that contained 
few or no striking incidents. I have not that 
squeamishness about the publication of letters and 
journals that some missionaries have; but still I 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 97 

would rather not appear in print for several years 
yet. The less I am known for a while — at least 
until it is known whether I am likely to be of any 
use in this part of the world — the better. If I 
should prove a worthless vessel, a useless labourer, 
there will be fewer disappointed in me. I know 
that some would laugh at me for feeling such an 
anticipation, but with me it is no laughing matter. 
My coming to this part of the world is but an exper- 
iment. If it succeeds, there will be time enough to 
become as prominent as is needful; if it does not, 
it will be better by far, both for myself and the 
Church, that as little be said about it, and as few 
expectations disappointed, as possible. 

What more shall I say? I might fi]l page after 

fage with expressions of attachment and affection, 
might say how often I think of you all, and recall 
to mind the many, many proofs of love, and tokens 
of kindly feelings, I have received from you. I 
may say how much I would delight io hear from 
you, and about all that concerns you, especially those 
things that relate to the spiritual welfare of each 
and every one of the family, and of other dear 
friends. But why should I? You already know 
all this nearly, if not quite as well, as I could tell 
you. When you think of me, or speak of me, do 
not think or speak of me, as if you thought I were 
unhappy, or repented of the course I have taken. 
I may be sick I may be in outward distress, I may 
be, I often am dejected and despondent, but I never 
yet have regretted that I am away from home, and 
never yet felt the wish (however much I should like 
to see you all) to leave the path I am now tread- 
ing, and turn my back upon the heathen. What 
may be my feelings hereafter, I dare not presume 
to say. I may be " troubled on every side;" "per- 
plexed," oftentimes; "persecuted," it may be; "cast 
down," even. But, I trust not to be "distressed," 
not to be " forsaken," and, far from being " destroyed," 
to come off at last conqueror, and more than conque- 



98 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

ror, through him that hath loved me. With such a 
confidence, and with the hope of being sustained by 
many influences from the land of my birth, more 
precious than gold and silver, I may well rejoice; 
yea, I do rejoice. 

Most affectionately yours, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



CHAPTER III. 

1842. 



Landing in China — Voyage in the Sea Queen — Shipwreck in the Har- 
mony — Return to Macao. 

At the period included in this chapter, hostilities 
existed between Great Britain and China, and the 
result of the contest, or even its duration, could not 
be known. On reaching China, the new missionary 
was instructed to inquire particularly, in view of 
the state of things then existing, the practica- 
bility of establishing a station at Hong Kong, or 
any point on the coast further north. Having ob- 
tained this information, and joined his colleagues at 
Singapore, they were authorized to decide the ques- 
tion of removing from Singapore, and concentrating 
the whole missionary force in China. On landing, 
he found that the Rev. T. L. McBryde had been at 
Macao for some months, having left Singapore in 
hopes that a sea voyage would recruit his health. 

Having made himself acquainted with the existing 
state of things in China, Mr. Lowrie left Macao on 
the 18th of June; and after four months of unavailing 
efforts to reach Singapore, he returned to Hong 
Kong on the 18th of October. The account of these 
distressing voyages, and his perilous shipwreck, is 
fully given in the following letters and journals. It 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 99 

is matter of regret that one-half of his journal in the 
Sea Queen was some years ago destroyed by fire, 
when the house of one of his relatives was burned 
down. The loss cannot be supplied, as no copy of 
this impressive journal was taken. 

During the time of these disastrous voyages, the 
providence of God had made the question plain, on 
which the missionaries were seeking for light. The 
war between Great Britain and China had been ter- 
minated by a treaty of peace, with which the con- 
tending parties appeared to be satisfied, and by 
which five cities on the coast were opened to the 
commerce and enterprise of Western nations, as well 
as to the labour of the Christian missionary. The 
time had now fully come when the labours of the 
church of God, in behalf of China, needed no longer 
to be carried on at a distant outport. 



Macao, May 28th, 1842. 

My Dear Mother — We anchored yesterday at four 
p. m. in Macao roads. Here I found Mr. and Mrs. 
McBryde, who had reached China several months ago, 
having taken the voyage from Singapore on account of 
his health. I was greatly delighted to find him here, 
and was much relieved by having his counsel and assist- 
ance in deciding the various questions before us. I was 
most cordially received by the different missionaries 
here, and found a temporary home with the Rev. 
Mr. Bridgman. At a late hour I got to bed, under 
musquito curtains, but could not sleep for a long 
time. It was so strange to be lying in a large or 
wide bed, to be in a large room, to feel that I was 
on heathen ground. I greatly missed the ship's 
bells, which strike every half hour on board. The 
noise of the gongs, and drums, and rattles, and other 
strange sounds in the town, and the many, many 
thoughts of hundreds of things, past, present, and 
to come, that crowded rapidly through my mind, 
kept me long awake* It is Saturday night again; — 



100 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

I am a stranger in the earth, hut Ehenezer — Em- 
manuel. 

Hong Kong, June 7 th, 1842. I stayed in Macao 
from Friday evening till Wednesday morning, and 
saw a good deal of the place. The population is about 
35,000, principally Chinese, with perhaps 5000 of 
Portuguese descent. The streets are narrow and 
crooked ; very few are more than ten feet wide, and 
some not more than six. They are commonly full 
of persons passing along, hucksters and pedlers, 
with their wares and cries of various kinds. I saw 
a poor girl, who had lost both her feet by the lepro- 
sy, and was moving about on her hands and knees. 
"Very few women are seen in the streets, except 
that in the mornings and evenings a number of well- 
dressed Portuguese women, with a servant behind, 
holding a large umbrella over them, go out to walk. 
The ladies, and a good many of the foreign male 
residents, commonly pay their visits in sedan chairs, 
borne by two Chinese. I used to pity some of the 
bearers as they went panting along under the weight 
of some fat fellow. These bearers commonly go in 
a little short trot, though it is very seldom that you 
see a Chinaman run. The houses of the foreigners 
are commonly large and roomy; the servants live 
in the basement, and the owners in the upper floor. 
Few or none of them are more than one story high. 
Most of them have one or more punkahs. 1 went 
out one morning to bathe, in the place where Mr. 
Stanton was captured, and in the way passed through 
a large Chinese burying ground. Most of the graves 
were very carelessly attended to. A great many 
of them had pieces of Chinese paper at the head. 
It is but a short time since the Chinese had their 
ceremony of worshipping the graves of their ances- 
tors. It is their custom then, to put such a piece 
of paper on the graves, to serve as money for their 
departed ancestors in the other world. I also visit- 
ed the Protestant burying ground, where Dr. Morri- 
son and his first wife are laid, It is a small, and 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 101 

rather a pretty place, now nearly full. I suppose, 
however, it will not be much used hereafter, as 
probably most of the Protestant foreigners will re- 
move to Hong Kong. 

There is a little chapel owned by the British in 
Macao, where one of the missionaries usually preach- 
es every Sabbath, using the forms of the Episcopal 
church. Mr. Boone preached on the Sabbath, on 
" Train up a child," &c. — He had first baptized the 
daughter of Mr. Swords, an American Episcopal 
merchant there. This, I believe, was the first pub- 
lic baptism ever performed by an American in 
Macao. The missionaries usually have their chil- 
dren baptized privately. There were two punkahs 
in the church, so that, though the day was warm, 
we were quite comfortable. There were probably 
forty persons present. The Chinese, however, have 
no Sabbath, and were going about vending their 
wares, and uttering then cries as usual. As for the 
Roman Catholics here, their Sabbath is over after 
mass, which is performed early in the morning. In 
the evening I preached to an audience of some twen- 
ty or thirty, at Mr. Brown's house, — on Psalm cxix. 
19. As Mr. McBryde was to leave Macao for 
Amoy on Wednesday, June 1st, together with Mr. 
Boone and Dr. Cumming, we had a missionary meet- 
ing at Mr. Brown's on Tuesday night. The vessel 
in which they were to go to Amoy, was lying at 
Hong Kong, and I accompanied them to this place. 

Having a head wind the whole time, we had to 
beat all the way, and were twenty-nine hours coming 
forty-five miles, the distance from Macao to Hong 
Kong. I suppose in our beating about, we went 
at least a hundred and fifty miles. Mr. B. and Mr. 
McB. were neither of them well; their wives were 
even more weakly, and in addition were sea sick ; 
their children were uneasy and fretful, and two 
ayahs or female servants, whom they had engaged 
to go with them to Amoy, were so sea-sick they 
could not hold up their heads. There they were, 
9* 



102 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

among tables and boxes, and chairs, and plates, 
with scarcely room to stir, sick, going to a strange 
country and far away from the comforts of home 
and friends. I assure you I began to think more 
seriously than before of the personal trials and dis- 
comforts of missionary life. Yet there was not a 
murmur uttered, nor as far as I could see, an emo- 
tion of impatience or regret felt. We arrived at 
Hong Kong harbour about three p. m., on Thursday. 
On Saturday morning I tried to go up one of the 
hills — I assure you that it was up-hill work, and I 
had hard tugging to get myself up. It was so steep, 
I concluded to go no further, and sat down to rest 
on a rock before descending. My toil in ascending 
the hill, naturally reminded me of the circumstances 
of the mission, which we were trying to establish 
here, and of the work that is yet before us. The 
difficulties are great — high as the mountains, and, 
apparently, as hard to be removed as the granite 
upon them ; and after all, what is it to the eye of 
man but a barren prospect, like the bare side of the 
hill I had been climbing ? And yet, as I ascended 
I had seen little plants and flowers, and insects, and 
shells, and recognized in all of them traces of the 
presence and power of Grod ; and as I looked around 
1 saw that some Chinese women had ascended the 
hills to gather firewood to sustain their earthly 
lives, and that civilized men were toiling at great 
expense to found a city here, where apparently, 
there was so little prospect of one being founded. 
If they spare no expense for a mere earthly object, 
why should Christians grudge their money or labour 
in endeavouring here to build the temple of the 
Lord ? There are great difficulties in the way, but 
when I looked round, and saw these vast hills piled 
up on all sides, and covered over with the immense 
blocks of granite as if in sport, just as a child heaps 
up little sand hills in its play, and disposes its peb- 
bles and its shells on their sides and their tops, I 
could not but exclaim, The God who formed these 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 103 

hills, and placed these rocks upon them, Is all-power- 
ful; and though they seem immovably fixed, yet 
even men, by slow and patient labour, may take 
them away; and he himself, by means that he can 
well employ, can remove them at once. The diffi- 
culties of our mission, God could remove at once ; 
but if he chooses to employ us in this work, the 
probability is, that for the present we shall proceed 
by slow, and perhaps for a time, almost imperceptible 
steps. But the work shall be done, for the mouth 
of the Lord hath spoken it. The granite rocks 
around were a little sanctuary to me, and I did not 
regret my toil in climbing up the hill. 

The Sabbath-day to me was a very pleasant day, 
though I saw many things to pain me. I could not 
but feel that I was in a worse than a heathen country. 
It is a heathen land under the control of Christians, 
where the heathen are allowed, and even required 
by the Christians, to work for them on the Sabbath- 
day. How can the missionaries urge the natives 
to keep holy the Sabbath-day, when the merchants 
and the Government send them to count money, 
store away goods, open roads, hew granite, and 
build houses, on that day ; and when the Roman 
Catholic priests, who are now exerting the greatest 
influence on the natives of any of the foreigners, 
consider that the Sabbath is over as soon as a mass 
is said ? The merchants go to their counting-rooms 
as usual, and the Sabbath is emphatically the day 
for visiting. — " Woe is me that I dwell in Mesech, 
and sojourn in the tents of Kedar !" My heart is 
sick at the sight of the wickedness around. Lord, 
show thyself. I felt almost afraid to establish a 
mission here, for how can a city prosper whose 
foundations are laid in the desecration of the Sabbath- 
day ? " Sin is a reproach to any people," and how 
much more to England and America ! 



104 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

China Sea, June 24th, 1842. 

Mr. John Lloyd — My Dear Brother : — I am 
often thinking of you, and, especially of late, often 
wishing I had you out here along with me. You 
must come out to China. . . . 

Here I am all alone, and rather lonely, going down 
the China Sea against the monsoon, and wishing 
most heartily that I were on terra firma again, and 
settled down at my Chinese studies. Excepting 
sea-sickness, and a very slight attack of fever at the 
commencement of this last trip, I have been uniformly 
very well since leaving New York; and have been 
enabled to see and hear a good deal, and to collect 
a good deal of information respecting China as a 
missionary field. I know you will be anxious to 
hear what I think of it in that respect, so I propose 
to tell you, in as few words as possible, what I think 
of it. You know how very unexpected it was to me 
that I should ever be a missionary to China. It is 
not a year yet since my station was assigned to me 
in this part of the world ; and I came out with many 
fears and misgivings, and many doubts as to my 
fitness for such a station, and as to its suitableness 
for missionary labour at the present time. But what 
I have seen and what I have heard has shown me 
many things I never knew before, has opened up 
to me views of its vastness as a field for labour 
almost overpowering, and has taught me that many 
of its difficulties have been greatly overrated. It has 
its difficulties, and some of them, such as the evil 
influence of foreigners, though I knew of them 
before, are far greater than I expected ; but on the 
whole I am greatly encouraged. There is a great 
work to be done, and the men are now wanted to 
perform it ; and it is not required that these men 
should be angels " greater in might and excelling 
in power" the rest of mankind, in order that they 
may perform it. The language can be learned, the 
people can be approached ; and I verily believe that 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 105 

China is now opening ; certainly it is more open now 
than it has ever been before. Missionaries can now 
labour in Macao much more freely than ever before. 
Hong Kong will soon be perfectly open. Mission- 
aries are now at Amoy and Chusan, places where no 
Protestant missionaries have ever been before ; and 
those at Amoy and Chusan, where the people have 
not been as yet corrupted by the evil influence and 
example of foreigners, represent them as an un- 
commonly interesting people, easy of access, and 
free in their manners. They are heathen of course, 
and have the vices of heathen ; but I am inclined to 
think that there is no people except the native 
Africans, among whom I would more readily labour, 
and with more hope of success, than among the 
Chinese ; and this I think is saying a good deal. 
You know how promising a people I have always 
thought the Africans are. 

I am not able now to give you the facts on which 
I base the above conclusion. Perhaps I may at 
some other time. But I never felt so anxious to 
live long as I have several times in China, when I saw 
the Chinese around me, and wanted to preach Christ 
to them. I think I should rejoice to wear out a 
lom$ life in Christ's service in China. 

I formed some very pleasant acquaintances among 
the missionaries in China, most of whom I have seen, 
and some of them frequently. . . . 

There is an infinite fund of wisdom in our Lord's 
saying to his apostles, "Be ye wise as serpents." 
Missionaries above all other men, it seems to me, 
need to be men of prudence ; not actuated by im- 
pulse, but influenced by steady and enlightened 
principle. Certainly nothing else will atone for the 
want of prudence, m a missionary to China at the 
present time. A "prudent counsellor" is invaluable, 
especially now. And yet there is very great danger 
of having prudence degenerate to timidity, and thus 
overpower our zeal. Surely we have need of wis- 
dom from on high to direct us. I often think of 



106 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

Solomon's prayer for wisdom, when he was appoint- 
ed to rule over the numerous people of Israel. 

How are you coming on in matrimonial affairs? 
Let me whisper in your ears a good piece of advice. 
Keep your eyes open ; if you see one who would 
make you a good and prudent wife, by all means 
try and secure her. If you cannot find one that 
would be an helpmeet for you, consider it an inti- 
mation of Providence that;' you are to remain unmar- 
ried for the present, and come out single. Such 
was the principle I acted on in the United States, 
and after all I have felt and seen, I am more and 
more convinced that it is the proper course to be taken. 
The missionaries here all recommend that a man 
should be married, but I believe they all abhor what 
are sometimes called " missionary matches," and I 
think most justly. I hope you will by example and 
precept discountenance all such things. 

How I should like to see you, and chat with you 
for a while ! Where are you ? what doing ? How 
are you getting on? What are your prospects? 
When will you be licensed ? Are you ready to 
come out here ? or do the Nestorians still call forth 
your sjmipathies? Do you still remember "the 
love of your espousals?" and that bright and happy 
season at Jefferson College, with our many pleasant 
interviews, and the walks we took, and the prayers 
we offered, and the many conjectures and plans for 
future usefulness we laid ? Some who started with 
us, and for a while promised as fair, have already 
gone back; while others have already entered into 
rest. Why are we spared? What are we doing? 
Could we now rejoice to give up the account of our 
stewardship ? 

Farewell — and may the Lord we have so often 
delighted to worship together, still watch over and 
bless thee. 

August 12th. Dear brother, if you ever come to 
China, I hope you may not have to go up or down 
the China sea against the monsoon. Alter fifty-three 



MEMOIK OP WALTER M. LOWME. 107 

days' hard work, we have been obliged to abandon 
the effort, and are now going to Manilla, to lay in 
fresh provisions, and prepare for another effort. 
The monsoon will be nearly over in a month, and then 
perhaps we may succeed. How often have I thought 
of you on this voyage, and wished you were here ! 

Affliction is a good thing to make one study the 
Scriptures. I never understood them half so well 
before, nor relished so much their precious promises. 
This has been a pretty severe trial to me : alone, with 
no Christian friend; a boisterous sea; hope deferred 
until the heart became sick, and then entirely cut 
off. But I have become pretty well reconciled to 
it, and can even rejoice, "for the Lord reigneth." 
Why he has thus disappointed my expectations, I 
cannot yet tell; but no doubt for wise reasons. This 
affliction I trust is doing me good, and I shall yet 
justify him in all his ways. 

Very truly yours 

W. M. Lowrte. 



China Sea, June 22d, 1842. 

My Dear Mother — I have a prospect of a long, 
lonely, and perhaps tedious passage. And I know of 
nothing that may contribute better to cheer at least 
a few of its lonely hours, than to keep a quiet jour- 
nal, connecting me once more with " home and home 
folks;" so I pray you to receive this little manuscript, 
as another proof, if proof were needed, that I have 
not forgotten you, and do not think of you with the 
less affection, though my letters may not at all times 
be composed with so many laboriously sought ex- 
pressions of affection, and longing desires to see you 
again, as you may sometimes meet with in the case 
of home-sick travellers. 

Late on Saturday, word came that the " Sea Queen 
goes to-morrow morning at daylight, and you will 
have to go aboard to-night." There was no help 
for it ; so 1 hastily packed up my trunk, said good- 



108 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRLE. 

bye to my kind friends, to all of whom, and es- 
pecially Mr. and Mrs. Brown, I had become very 
much attached, and at half-past six, got aboard 
another Chinese boat to go out to the vessel. It 
rained several times pretty hard, yet we got out in 
two hours and a half. It was rather a stormy, un- 
comfortable preparation for the Sabbath ; and I could 
not think without longing remembrances of the many 
pleasant Saturday evenings on board the Huntress, 
and particularly of the "preparation," as "the Sab- 
bath drew near," at home. I wondered what you 
were all doing; and whether you had any idea of 
my situation, — alone, weary, and half despondent. 
However, my troubles seemed to be over when I got 
safely on board, and I thought I should now in these 
u splendid accommodations," have at least a quiet 
and pleasant voyage to Singapore. But I began to 
think very soon, that I had reckoned without my 
host. My room is a good, large, airy apartment, 
and high enough for me to stand upright ; but it has 
no berth, though a large transom supplies the place 
of that ; no table, no wash-stand ; not even a wash- 
basin ; no lamp, no shelves, only one or two hooks, 
and one stool; these are its "accommodations." 
The first thing I saw when I went in at night, was 
a host of large cockroaches, which made themselves 
perfectly at home there; a quantity of spielers and 
spider's webs in every corner ; and a very unpleas- 
ant odour, caused, I suppose,. in great part, by the 
cockroaches, to which, after three or four days' ex- 
perience, I have not yet become accustomed. 

We were to have sailed at daylight Sabbath morn- 
ing, but did not get off till ten o'clock ; had a head 
wind and a rough sea; and by ten o'clock, p. m., 
we had gone only ten or fifteen miles, and had to 
anchor just outside of the great Ladrone Island. 
Next clay we did very little better, and beat about 
in sight of land all day. Meantime I felt very poor- 
ly, Sabbath morning, though not unwell. I could 
not fix my thoughts on anything. The business of 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 109 

our mission, and various plans, kept crowding into my 
mind. I tried to read the Psalms, Life of the Mar- 
tyrs, &c, but could not with any ease or pleasure. 
Afternoon, my head ached, tooth ached, hands and 
face were sore from being sun-burnt the day before, 
and I had a good deal of fever, which kept on me 
for several hours. I was tired lying down, yet too 
weak to sit up ; and it was too wet and unpleasant 
to be out. The officers were too busy to attend to 
me ; and Chun Sing, who is going with me to Singa- 
pore, was quite sea-sick himself. 

Oh, how often I thought of the Huntress, with 
her nice clean sweet cabins, her kind captain, pious 
mate, intelligent and quiet crew, and pleasant pas- 
sengers ! Everything seemed different here. I 
could hardly avoid murmuring, though at the same 
time I felt that I had many, many more comforts 
than I deserved, and after a while I became rather 
more satisfied. Next day, I kept getting better; 
got several refreshing naps, and in each of them 
had a sweet and pleasant dream. I dare not tell 
you the first, — it would amuse you too much. In 
the second, I dreamed that father and yourself had 
come out to Macao to see me. He wanted to go to 
Singapore in the Sea Queen, but I told him to go in 
the Huntress by all means. We had to part for a 
while, and I was very anxious for him to read the 
letters, and particularly the official one, which I had 
that morning left in the hands of a young friend to 
be sent to America by the first vessel. I hope you 
have got them before now. I had some trouble to 
get the letters for him in time, and just as I got 
them, I awoke, and behold it was a dream. 

Next day, Tuesday, I was better still ; and to-day, 
Wednesday, June 22d, I am quite well, and have 
things a little more comfortably fixed. I have told 
Chun Sing to come to my room every day, and read 
the New Testament, and learn the Shorter Cate- 
chism, &c. This is the strength of the S. W. mon- 
soon, so that we have the wind strong and right 
10 



110 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

ahead, and shall have it so all the way. Conse- 
quently, we have to sail one hundred and fifty miles 
at least, in order to make fifty on our course. 

Saturday, June 25th. Here we are still beating 
down the China Sea, but on the whole making very 
fair progress. As good success as we have had 
thus far would take us to Singapore in twenty 
days, and I should be pretty well satisfied to be 
assured we should be no longer. My situation, on 
the whole, is tolerably pleasant ; though I do some- 
times feel sadly out of sorts. In the Huntress, 
when I had no other employment, I could sit and 
watch our sailors ; they were always busy, either 
working, or talking, or reading ; and what they did, 
they seemed to do heartily. But these Lascars are 
the poorest set of human creatures I have ever 
seen ; they are not to be compared to the Chinese. 
There must be near fifty of them aboard, though 
the vessel is not much more than half as large as 
the Huntress, which had only twenty men and 
boys ; and yet these fifty do not do their work half 
as well as those twenty. So many of them seize 
hold of a rope, that they are actually in each other's 
way, and they pull as if they were afraid of hurting 
the rope's feelings. And then, so dirty; I have 
not seen one of them with a clean article of dress 
since I came on board. I must except the carpen- 
ter, who is a pretty decent looking-fellow. He is a 
Chinaman. It does me good to look at him. I do 
not want to see our butler at all, however, and least 
of all when I am eating, — with his soiled turban and 
faded shawl, dirty trows ers, and apparently un- 
washed face and hands. I was always fond of 
potatoes, but I like them now better than ever, for 
they come to the table with their coats on, and I am 
sure they are clean ; cannot say the same of any- 
thing else at table. But, a man must eat, and there 
is no use of being so squeamish ; besides, I am 
usually hungry at breakfast time, half-past eight, 
and at dinner, half-past two ; and these are the only 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. Ill 

meals I eat. At tea I take but little, the tea is so 
abominable that I can not drink it. And the dry 
ship biscuit, the only bread we have, is not very 
inviting by itself. 

1 could bear these little matters if other things 
were right. Our officers are to me quite gentle- 
manly, and personally, I have no complaint; but, 
they evidently consider the men as of an inferior 
caste. And the men feel that they are looked upon 
as such. Some of the men have rather fine coun- 
tenances, but almost all of them betray vacant 
minds, or, at least, minds filled only with the least 
important cares of this passing and perishing world. 
How can I be sufficiently grateful that I am made 
to differ from them? As to religious services, at 
present there are none ; and this, more than any- 
thing else, makes me feel alone. The most pleasant 
occupation I have, is to spend an hour every morn- 
ing in teaching Chun Sing the New Testament, and 
the Shorter Catechism. And perhaps I may give 
another hour hereafter to other studies. Then I 
read Hen^stenb erg's Christology, History of Scot- 
land, The Middle Ages, &c. ; study a little Chinese, 
and about China, &c. I write some every day ; 
expect to have a host of letters written when I get 
to Singapore ; and if a vessel should be going thence 
to the United States direct, they will arrive sooner 
than those I wrote at Macao. 

The thermometer has stood about 84° all week ; 
to-day, 85°, but owing to the strength of the wind, 
the air has been quite pleasant. Numerous flocks 
of flying-fish are constantly starting up, as our ves- 
sel in her course disturbs them. What immense 
numbers there must be ! We probably startle some 
thousands every day, and yet the course of our ship 
is a very narrow fine in the midst of a very wide 
sea. Sea sights have lost much of their novelty for 
me now, and I have to seek amusement and employ- 
ment principally in myself. It is well for me that 
I can do so, and still better that there is One above 



112 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

me to whom I can always go. For three or four 
days after the voyage commenced, I could hardly 
bear the thoughts of its lasting thirty or forty 
days ; — but now I am disposed to say with cheer- 
fulness, " The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice !" 
Let him hasten or retard the end of this voyage, as 
seems best to himself, for He doeth all things well. 
Sabbath evening, June 26th. At the close of a 
silent Sabbath, my thoughts turn back to the land 
of my birth, and I cannot help asking, how are you 
all? And what are you doing? In a few hours I 
suppose you will be going up to the house of God. 
You have opportunities of communion with fellow 
Christians. Your hearts are cheered at the sight of 
churches, and though pained at the prevalence of 
wickedness, yet you can believe that the Lord has 
much people around you. It is not so here. I am 
alone, as far as Christian society is concerned, and 
almost alone as far as any society is concerned; 
surrounded on all sides by lands where there is no 
Sabbath, few churches, few Christians. In such a 
situation I find it a very hard thing to keep up the 
life of religion. At home one depends for the state 
of his religious feelings very much on the general 
tone of the churches around him; here there is 
nothing of the kind to depend upon. Perhaps this 
is an advantage, for it causes one to feel more entire- 
ly his dependence on God, the great Author of all 
true religious emotions; but it is hard at first, to 
become reconciled to such a state of things, and like 
David of old, I can well say, "I had rather be a 
door-keeper in the house of my God, than to dwell 
in the tents of wickedness." When you go up with 
the great congregation to worship God, do not forget 
those that are in the ends of the earth, and that are 
far off upon the sea. True, God, your God, is our 
confidence ; but it is pleasant to think that we are 
thought of by you, in the midst of your privileges. 
The tears fill my eyes, and my heart is full, when I 
think of you and your enjoyments; but I have no 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 113 

wish to go back. Blessed be the name of Christ for 
that precious promise, " Lo, I am with you always." 

And yet it is good to be in such circumstances 
occasionally. There are passages of Scripture that 
cannot be understood otherwise. I have often read 
over, and dwelt upon the eighty-fourth Psalm, and 
yet all my previous meditations, and all the com- 
mentaries I have read upon it, have not shown me 
its sweetness and beauty, so much as this day's ex- 
perience. 

Truly, " Blessed are they that dwell in thy house ; 
they will be still praising thee." But those who 
enjoy these external privileges, do not monopolize 
all the blessings. "Blessed is the man whose 
strength is in thee, in whose heart are the ways of 
them. ' Even in the most unfavourable circumstan- 
ces, when far removed from the refreshing dews of 
God's house, they shall enjoy his favour. "Passing 
through the valley of Baca, (weeping, Bochim,) he 
maketh it a well; the rain also fllleth the pools." 
("As the rain cometh down from heaven, so is my 
word,"&c.) Such are the consolations of wanderers 
here; and hereafter, after they have gone from 
strength to strength, "Every one of them in Zion 
appeareth before God." Such truths and encour- 
agements may well strengthen a lonely wanderer 
to run with patience the race set before him ; and 
while he cannot but feel, that a day in the Lord's 
courts is better than a thousand, yet even here " the 
Lord God is a sun and shield ; no good thing doth 
he withold from them that walk uprightly." How 
far superior is such a lot to that of the proudest of 
this world's favourites! Truly "my soul doth mag- 
nify the Lord, and my spirit rejoiceth in God my 
Saviour." 

Monday, June 27th. I did not expect to have 
been becalmed in the strength of the monsoon; 
but we are. Have hardly gone twenty miles in the 
last twenty hours. I do not think, however, it will 
last long, but it tries the captain's patience a good 
10* 



114 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

deal. I have been busy to-day, and happy, though 
alone. 

Tuesday, June 28th. We made eight miles 
yesterday, and from present appearances shall not 
make much more to-day; though a little squall we 
had this afternoon, may have carried us on perhaps 
five miles. I was very glad the squall came, for in 
the rain our dirty Lascars got a washing, that im- 
proves their appearance very much. I have now 
got to feel pretty well contented and at home, but 
would notwithstanding be very glad to be at Singa- 
pore, and better pleased still to be at Macao, or 
some place nearer China. 

As you wanted to know what we live on, I will 
give you the account of one day's fare. It has been 
precisely the same, every day since I came on 
board. Breakfast, at half-past eight; tea, fowl or 
duck, salt beef, salt tongue, potatoes, rice and curry, 
guava jam. Our only bread is ship-biscuit. For 
dinner, at half-past two ; soup, commonly pea soup, 
fowl or duck, salt beef, salt tongue, potatoes, rice 
and curry, pudding, generally of some kind of dough 
and rather heavy, cheese, preserved ginger, or some 
similar sweetmeats. For tea, at six o'clock ; tea 
and biscuit. I have a wonderful appetite at present, 
and eat my salt beef and potatoes with very great 
relish. I suppose the above bill of fare will last all 
the voyage, unless the fowls and ducks should hap- 
pen to give out. 

Wednesday, June 29th. With reading and 
writing and eating and sleeping, my time passes 
quite comfortably, though I often catch myself 
wishing to be at Singapore. Yet there is no use 
of being impatient. My principal reason for wishing 
to be at Singapore soon, is that I may the sooner be 
at my appointed business. But surely the Master 
on whose business I am sent, knows best when I 
ought to be there, and it is in his power to hasten 
or retard my arrival. He holds the winds, and can 
cause them to waft me on speedily, if he sees best. 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 115 

If he does not choose to have it so, certainly he 
has wise reasons for doing as he does, and I ought 
contentedly to submit. With such considerations, 
I try to allay the impatience I sometimes feel, at 
being delayed by these calms. 

Saturday, July 2d. Still progressing slowly. 
Had calms every day of greater or less duration, 
from Sabbath till to-day. Though, as we commonly 
had a little wind at night, and that such a wind as 
enabled us to proceed directly on our course, we 
have probably gone quite as far as we should have 
clone, had the monsoon been blowing in its strength. 
Yesterday we did uncommonly well. We had a good 
breeze during the night, that carried us eighty miles 
directly towards Singapore. To-day we are going 
perhaps faster, but not so directly; we are running 
now between south-east and south, or to speak 
according to the compass, we are going S. S. E. 
Having been pretty busy, my time has passed away 
rapidly and pleasantly, though I do at times feel 
the monotony of this voyage quite sensibly, and 
often think of the Huntress. To increase my plea- 
sure, the captain said that two months ago, as he 
was going from Singapore to Macao, he was be- 
calmed ten whole days in sight of a small island 
near Singapore, and he believed he was fated to 
make long voyages in the China Sea. There ! while 
I am writing I see the sails flapping against the 
masts, and we are becalmed again! What is so 
helpless a thing as a ship at sea in a calm? How 
vain is all human power in such a case! and oh, 
how much more dreadful, is the spiritual case of 
those who are deprived of the influences of that 
Spirit, which is like the wind that bloweth where 
it listeth ! If Christians were half as anxious to ob- 
tain the influences of the Spirit, as sailors are to 
catch the breeze, what a different appearance the 
church would have ! 

Wednesday, July 6th. The calm I spoke of Satur- 
day p. m. lasted but a few minutes, and we have 



116 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

had the monsoon strong ever since ; strong wind, 
heavy sea, and slow progress. Yesterday we went 
fifteen miles west and fifteen south; to-day, thirty 
miles west and twenty north; so that, as far as 
latitude is concerned, we are worse off than we 
were two days ago. This morning the wind, was so 
strong that it broke our main top-gallant-mast, and 
the men have been all day employed making a new 
one. There has been so much motion yesterday 
and to-day, and that of so unpleasant a kind, that 
I could not study Chinese. Just as I get my pen- 
cil ready to make a neat stroke, away goes the snip ; 
and while I am busy holding to whatever I can 
catch, the ship staggers off, and leans over on the 
other side, and a wave rushes in at one of the lee 
ports. Still, on we dash on our foaming way, and 
as yet no harm has befallen any of us. My situa- 
tion is as pleasant as that of any on board, indeed 
more so ; a good large room, plenty to eat and wear, 
plenty of books and papers, and at present no 
responsibility. Yet I would like to be at the end 
of this voyage. We have now been out sixteen 
days, and are not half way yet. 

These poor Lascars have rather a hard fife ; their 
only food is rice, with a very little curry. They 
sit on the deck, and eat with their fingers, three or 
four out of the same dish. They sleep on deck, in 
the open air, with only a coarse piece of flannel for 
a covering. No provision at all is made for their 
accommodation in the " country ships," no forecastle 
nor berths. If it rains, they must let it rain, and 
sleep through it, or else keep awake. All hands 
are employed all day, and no watches are kept, as 
on board vessels manned by English or Americans. 
They may sleep all night, unless they are wanted, 
when the "tindals," or overseers, of whom there 
are four, answering to boatswain and boatswain's 
mates, sound their whistles, and call all hands. Six 
of them, however, at a time, watch for two hours 
during the night, and when the bells are struck, 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 117 

every half-hour, the one nearest raises a yell, for I 
can call it nothing else, which is repeated by the 
next, and so on through the whole six. This is to 
show that they are awake ; but, for all the watch 
they keep, they might as well be asleep. 

The "glorious fourth" passed away without a word 
being said on the subject. I thought of it, and of 
the last fourth of July I had spent at Marshall, 
Michigan, and how little I then expected to have 
ever been tossing about on the China Sea. Who 
knows what a day may bring forth ? 

Saturday, July 9th. The close of the third week 
of our voyage, and we hardly can say that we have 
gone half way ! We have come ten degrees of lati- 
tude, but we have ten degrees more of latitude, and 
eight of longitude, still to traverse : if we run west, 
we cannot go south; if we run south, we must also 
run east; thus making our distance in longitude 
greater. But why should I complain? If hope is 
deferred, should my heart be made sick thereby, 
when I know that a Father's kind hand defers it ? 
I felt greatly reproved this afternoon, as I sat on 
the stern, and saw a large sea-fowl slowly sailing 
over the waters. Our heavenly Father cares for it, 
and feeds it, even on these wide and rolling waters. 
Am not I of more value than many such ? Is not 
the work I am engaged in more for his glory, than 
the preservation and sustenance of the fowls of the 
air and the fish of the sea? And if he cares for 
them, will he not much more care for me and carry 
me on? Surely he knoweth what is best for me, 
and most for his own glory. I will therefore com- 
mit my way unto the Lord, and trust also in him. 
He will bring it to pass. Forgive me, dear mother, 
if I bring these things improperly to your eye; I 
have no one here of kindred spirit with myself, and 
it is pleasant, even though on paper, and afar off, to 
give utterance to sentiments that I know will find 
a response in your own feelings. It seems to me, 
were I once more in the society of fellow-christians, 



118 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

1 should prize much more highly than I have ever 
done, the opportunity of talking of these things, — 
of "speaking one to another." 

Monday, July 11th. For two days we have 
been running west, and have made over three de- 
grees; but a strong current yesterday carried us 
more than a degree to the north of our position on 
Saturday. The officers are beginning to shake their 
heads, and predict a long passage. We have all, I 
think, made up our minds to six weeks instead of 
four. The mate told me to-day, that the Sea Queen 
had never had a fair wind for a whole day since she 
was launched, about fifteen months since ! How- 
ever, I do not know but that this voyage will prove 
a very profitable one to me. It reminds me of sev- 
eral facts that had almost entirely escaped from my 
memory. I had quite forgotten that the Apostle 
Paul, after being in journey ings often, in weariness, 
in painfulness, &c, had also "thrice been ship- 
wrecked, and spent a night and a day in the deep." 
So it seems even the best of missionaries did not es- 
cape from some troubles on the seas. I wonder if he 
had as fine a state-room as I have, and whether, in 
his voyages, he had to live on salt provisions and 
hard biscuit ! We have no journals nor diaries and 
the like, from the times of the Apostles, to tell us 
how they managed on such occasions ; but the more 
I think of the matter, the more I am inclined to 
believe that I am better off as to outward things, 
than Paul, or almost any of his fellow-labourers; 
and therefore, so far, I have not much reason to 
complain. Still, I must say, I should not be sorry 
to exchange this ship's fare for a short residence in 
Singapore. However, the Huntress has spoiled me. 
The Sea Queen is a great deal better ship than the 
Anna Watson, in which Mr. McBride went to Amoy. 
I have since found a passage of Scripture much 
more to the point than the one above. Acts xxvii. 7. 
"And when we had sailed slowly many days, and 
scarce were come over against Cnidus, the wind 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 119 

not suffering us," &c. It has taken such hold of 
me, that I have laid it up for future consideration. 

We had quite a gale last night, with a very heavy 
sea ; so much tossing and pitching, that I scarcely 
slept the whole night. For the time it lasted, it 
was more uncomfortable than the gale off St. Paul's, 
where we had to lie to for twelve hours. We were 
almost lying to, the greater part of the last night, 
but now (p. m.) we are going on rather pleasantly. 

Monday, July 18th. About six a. m., on Satur- 
day, the wind rose again with great force, and it 
was the middle of the day, yesterday, before it 
abated. In the gale on Friday, the wind split our 
fore-topsail and jib, and others had to be put up in 
their places. On Saturday the wind split the second 
fore-topsail, main-topsail, and spanker. Ship rolled 
prodigiously, and for a while things looked rather 
dark, as you may well suppose. A strong gale and 
heavy sea, and the wind dead ahead, are not very 
pleasant things. At the middle of the clay on Satur- 
day, we were not more than one degree further on 
our course than we were seven days before ; with 
a slight variation, we might almost have adopted 
Peter's words : " We have toiled all night and 
caught nothing." 

The wind is such to-day, that we could go almost 
in a south course — S. by E. — but unfortunately 
there are a number of shoals in that direction, and 
this wind would carry us among them in twelve 
hours ; consequently, we are obliged to put off to 
the north-west, and the wind being strong, we " lose 
a point" in our course, by lee-way. Such are some 
of the troubles of the voyager's life. Do not forget 
',o pray for the sailor. 

Tuesday, July 19th. Wind more favourable still; 

we can go south, and sometimes even S. by W., 

Jrnt being still too near the shoals have to run W., 

amd N. W. by N., more than half the time. Yes- 

tercjay was the best day's work we have made in a 

tog time, thirty miles west and sixteen south, 



120 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRTE. 

equal to about thirty-three on our course, i. e., if 
the captain's observation was a good one, of which 
he is doubtful. We are now very seriously ex- 
pecting that our trip will be of two months, instead 
of one month. But the Lord reigneth. I trust 1 
can rejoice thereat. We certainly have evidence 
that lie is watching over us. To-day, as I was 
lying on the transom, (there has been so much mo- 
tion for a week, that it is very unpleasant to sit, 
and I spend more than half the time lying down,) 
very quietly reading one of Irving's sketches, I heard 
a great and unusual cry on deck. As it continued, 
I ran out and found a man had fallen from the bow- 
sprit into the sea. Most providentially, he caught 
one of the ropes thrown to him, before the ship had 
gone too far, and was drawn in. The sea was so 
rough, that the captain could hardly have let a boat 
down for him. Had it been night; had the sea been 
rougher ; had he fallen on the other side of the ves- 
sel, where the waves would have carried him from 
her ; had he not been able to grasp the rope ; in any 
of these cases he would have been lost. But the 
poor heathen, if he thinks at all about it, will ascribe 
his escape to chance, or to some of his idols, as blind 
and helpless as chance. These poor fellows have a 
great horror of the sea. It is only for high wages 
that they will serve as sailors. These men get four- 
teen rupees monthly, or nearly seven dollars, a large 
sum for such sailors ; and after all, the greater part 
of the crews of the " country ships" are impressed 
by force, and carried off without their own consent. 
July 21st. Here we are, fifty miles north and 
thirty miles west of our station day before yester- 
day. Quite a gale came on yesterday afternoon, 
and we have been almost lying to for twenty-four 
hours. We have one duck, and ten fowls left, and 
nearly a certainty of having only salt meat for p,„ 
few weeks to come, unless Providence so order ' it 
that we get to Singapore next week, which mif^ht 
be done, even in this monsoon, under favourable ur 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 121 

cumstances. The captain has begun to talk of al- 
lowances of wood, water and provisions. Outward 
things look gloomy. I do not say these things by 
way of complaint, for I feel less disposed to com- 
plain now, than at any previous part of the voyage, 
but to give you some idea of our situation. As to 
myself, I find the promises increasingly precious, 
and I think I shall soon have Acts xxvii. by heart. 
It becomes more and more instructive. Still, hope 
has not yet left me, that we may make a reason- 
able voyage as to time, though the prospect is 
more and more discouraging. Such times as these, 
head winds, tossing tempests, and adverse currents, 
make me think of that happy place, where "there 
is no more sea." 

The most unpleasant thing about our present 
situation, is its uncertainty. We may have a favour- 
able wind to-morrow, and soon reach our "desired 
haven." We may toss about here for weeks, and 
at last not be able to make the port after all. But 
"the Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice. Clouds 
and darkness are round about him, but righteous- 
ness and judgment are the habitation of his throne." 

July 22d. Worse and worse ; after running for 
eighteen hours to the N. W. and W. N. W., and six 
hours S. S. E., at the rate of four miles an hour all 
the time, we find ourselves twenty miles north, and 
ten miles east of our station yesterday ! The cur- 
rent here must be tremendous. We are almost at 
our u wits' end." We have now been beating about 
for a week, most of the time under double-reefed 
topsails, and have made almost no progress. Indeed, 
we are very little farther on than we were two 
weeks ago. Yet I am thankful to find that my own 
mind is calm and peaceful most of the time. I 
should greatly regret to be obliged to put back to 
Macao; and should be most heartily glad to be at 
Singapore, or to be assured of getting there in three 
weeks; but it is the Lord who has "raised the 
stormy wind," and he has wise ends in view. It is 
11 



122 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWREE. 

not very comfortable being here. My health may 
suffer for want of exercise ; there being so much mo- 
tion, it is hardly possible, with safety, to take any ; 
the affairs of the mission may be retarded somewhat 
by my detention ; Dr. Hepburn may be in need of 
the funds I have with me, so may Mr. Buell ; our 
removal to China, should that be resolved on, may 
be delayed a good while, &c. ; but all these things 
are known to Him who controls my course, and He 
will care for his own cause. Cowper's hymn, 

" God moves in a mysterious way," 

is a very precious one, especially the last lines : 

" God is his own interpreter, 
And he will make it plain." 

Saturday, July 23d. Twenty miles to the east of 
our station yesterday ; same latitude. 

Monday, July 25th. I see the China sea in an 
entirely different aspect this voyage, from what it 
was in May, when we went up. Then all was 
calm; now all is stormy. We are lying to to-clay 
again, after splitting three or four more sails. Yes- 
terday and to-day have been so cloudy as to allow 
no observation, and we know not where we are. I 
almost begin to doubt whether we shall arrive at 
Singapore at all, during this monsoon. We have 
now been out the usual time required to make the 
trip, and the prospect is darker than ever. The 
captain talks of going to Manilla to lay in fresh 
stores. We shall be obliged to do this before long, 
if we do not soon arrive at Singapore, as we have 
provisions for but little more than a month longer. 
However, I am not discouraged. "Jehovah Jireh. 
In the mount it shall be seen. ' God is accustomed 
to reveal himself when his creatures are at their 
greatest extremities. I have been comparing my 
condition with that of the Lascars on board ; ill-feel, 
ill-clothed, ill-treated, working hard, few social, no 
intellectual, and, worse than all, no spiritual privi- 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 123 

leges. How much is my condition better than 
theirs ! 

Friday, July 29th. We are now near two hundred 
miles further north than we were last week, and 
about sixty miles further from Singapore than we 
were fifteen days ago. I thought that I undertook 
this voyage in obedience to the intimations of Pro- 
vidence, but hitherto they have almost all been 
against us. One gale this week drove us eighty 
miles to the northward in less than twenty hours ; 
head winds and adverse currents make it nearly 
impossible to proceed. Our provisions will last us 
but a month longer, and it would require almost all 
that time in favourable circumstances to make the 
remainder of our voyage. 

To be sure all anxiety, even on these points, is 
quieted by the recollection that Christ is "head 
over all things for the church," and that all things 
shall work together for good, to them that love 
God ; but sometimes I forget these things. * I would 
not willingly undertake another such voyage as this, 
and yet I must say, so great have been the benefits 
which I have received from this trial, that they far 
more than counterbalance all the inconveniences 
hitherto endured. Still we are not required to seek 
afflictions, and I should greatly rejoice to be once 
more on solid ground; yet while detained I hope to 
be sustained. 

Saturday, July 30th. The pleasantest day we 
have had for weeks : a light clear sky, blue sea, 
little motion, and pleasant breeze. At noon, the 
captain put his head into my room, crying, with 
great glee, " Hurrah, she springs it again ! We have 
made ten miles southing !" The first time we have 
been able to get to the south for a week, though we 
have had more favourable winds. This is a "little 
reviving in our bondage," among these cut-rents. If 

* I am not quite sure that I recollect right, but I think Bunyan 
makes Mr. Forget-good Mayor of Mansoul in place of my Lord Under- 
standing, which is very appropriate. 



124 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

it will only continue ! In a case like this, one is in 
danger either of building too much on such a pros- 
pect as we have to-day, or, on the other hand, of 
"despising the day^ of small things," and being 
cast down, because it is no better. 

I was much struck with Isa. xxvi. 4, yesterday 
evening. The literal translation of the Hebrew is, 
"Trust ye in Jehovah even for ever, for in Jah 
Jehovah is the rock of unending ages." No trans- 
lation, however, can give the force of the original. 
It is, I think, even more emphatic than " the five 
negatives," Heb. xiii. 5, on which you may have 
seen some very delightful remarks in Nevins's Prac- 
tical Thoughts. I think if I ever know enough of 
Chinese to be of any service in translating the Bible 
into it, I shall find it a very pleasant employment. 
I find that in proportion as I closely examine 
almost any passage, it presents gems more and more 
sparkling. Thus, in the above passage, in addition 
to the triple mention of the name Jehovah, the 
peculiar name of God, as the Covenant God of his 
people, the first "for ever" is literally -- eternities of 
eternity;" and the last expression is "the rock of 
everlastings." Well might the Psalmist (Ps. cxliv. 
15,) say, "Happy is that people" (literally, the 
blessednesses of that people,) "whose God is 
Jehovah" 

Monday, Aug. 1st. Delightful weather and fair 

Erogress; yesterday, forty-six miles direct; to-day, 
fty-six to the east, and three to the south; and 
wind getting more favourable. If this weather con- 
tinues, we hope to be in Singapore in less than three 
weeks. 

Tuesday, Aug. 2d. Still progressing ^ at a very 
fair rate. Saw the coast of Cochin China to-day, 
about thirty or forty miles off. It is high and moun- 
tainous, but we have not gone near enough to see its 
features very distinctly. The part we saw was Cape 
Varela, or the Pagoda Cape — so called from a very 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 125 

large rock on the side of the mountain, just behind 
the cape. It has a very singular appearance. 

Saturday, Aug. 6th. After going on swimmingly 
for four or five days, we found ourselves beset by a 
current yesterday, which became very strong to-day, 
and has sent us a long way to the eastward. This 
casts rather a damp over our spirits. Where we are 
now, Lat. 11°, is the narrowest part of the sea, and 
if we meet a current anywhere it is likely to be 
here. Could we only get two degrees further down, 
we should probably be safe enough. To-day finishes 
our forty-ninth day, and yet we are hardly more 
than half way ; yet the weather is fine, and we still 
hope for the best, though I assure you it is quite 
trying. What shall the end of these things be ? 
Here I am all alone ; no, not alone ; for God is here, 
and He whose Providence did so remarkably arrest 
me a year ago, and turn my course from Africa to 
China, and has brought me hitherto, will not now 
desert me. Nothing encourages me so much in 
regard to my labours in this mission, as the recol- 
lection that I have been sent here. I should 
never have come of my own free choice ; and I am 
sure that He who has sent me has work for me to do, 
for which he will strengthen me. It may be he has 
sufferings for me to endure, and though the thought 
of them almost makes me tremble, for the rod I have 
felt on this voyage has been hard to bear, and for 
the present grievous, yet will his grace therein be 
sufficient for me. If he has neither work for me to 
do, nor trials for me to bear, then my course is 
almost done. And it is no further from this rough 
sea to heaven, than from the soft beds, and the kind 
and soothing attentions of home ; and never, I trust, 
either in this world, or in the world to come, shall I 
regret that I have left father and mother, and 
brethren and sisters, for the kingdom of heaven's 
sake. 

I could wish I had a Christian friend near. Even 
this communion with you on paper, with " pen and 
11* 



126 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

ink," when I "have many things to say," and can 
write but a very few of them, is refreshing. How 
often I think of yon ! — of the hasty breakfast that 
morning; how Reuben was like a silent cricket all 
the time ; how Jane burst into tears when I came 
away ; of the meeting in the Mission rooms, and the 
kind friends there ; of the walk down to the ship, 
when the sun shone out so clear ; of the crowd, and 
the bustle, and the hurry there; the farting I I 
can see you yet, waving your handkerchiefs for the 
last time ; brother John's last blessing yet sounds 
in my ears; and I think how poor Elizabeth was 
watching over Samuel's sick couch at the time. 
Again, I see you, and father, and Reuben. Now, 
the ship has moved, and I see you no more ! It is 
too much. I do not often weep ; but sometimes: 
and yet they are not tears of sorrow, but of affection, 
and fond remembrance. In this world there are part- 
ings and sorrow. In this world there is perplexity 
and disappointment; in this world we "shall have 
tribulation." But in heaven there is no more part- 
ing, and "no more sea;" no more tribulation, for 
" sighing and sorrow shall flee away," not go away, 

\>uiflee away. 

* * ^ * ♦ * ♦ 

[The rest of this Journal was destroyed, as stated 
on page 99.] 



Manilla, September 1st, 1842. 
My Dear Mother — . . . When my journal comes 
to hand, which I hope it will before very long, you 
will have a fuller account of the various adventures 
and hair-breadth escapes, of the voyage from Macao 
to this place. It is rough and uncouth in many 
ways, but it has been a companion to me in loneli- 
ness and in dangers, and in pleasures. It made me 
think of home and of friends when the storm howled 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 127 

around me, and the billows tossed our ship as if 
they would overwhelm her and us in the black 
gulf beneath us. It made me think of home, too, 
in the calm sunset hour at sea, and it brought the 
tears to my eyes more than once, as the quiet hours 
of the Saturday and the Sabbath closed around me. 
I have laughed over some of its little tales, and wept 
over others, and insensibly it grew like a friend in 
whose welfare I was deeply interested, and when I 
sat in my silent cabin and was sorrowful that I had 
no friend to feel for me, or sympathize with me in 
my solitude, I laid my hand upon its pages, and 
said, Wait awhile ; when she to whom it is addressed 
has read it, I shall lack no sympathy ; and the very 
anticipation relieved me. Thus, though in itself 
it has small merit, yet its associations and nameless 
influences give it a value in my eyes, that I trust 
will not be wholly wanting with you. 

The houses here cover a great extent of ground, 
and are two stories high ; the ground floor is used 
for offices, storage, servants' rooms, stables, &c, and 
the people live on the second floor. A verandah 
from four to six feet wide runs all round the 
second story of the house; about four feet of the 
verandah from the floor is boarded up ; and the rest 
up to the eaves of the roof is occupied by sliding 
frames, which are glazed, if I may use that word, 
with mother-of-pearl shells, instead of glass. The 
shells are cut into pieces about three inches square, 
and being semi-transparent, admit abundance of 
light, even when the verandah is all closed up. 
Glass windows are not used at all, and as there is 
no winter here, there are neither stoves nor fire- 
places. Just before my window there are two or 
three plantain trees, shooting up their broad leaves. 
One of the leaves before me, I should say, is nine 
feet long, and two feet and a half broad, of a beau- 
tiful green, and gently waving with the wind. By 
the side of the plantain is an areka tree, with 
branches of leaves of a much darker green, the 



128 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

branch of leaves being about half as long as a single 
plantain leaf. Half a dozen or more plantain leaves 
grow from the top of a plantain tree, and half a 
dozen branches of leaves from the top of an areka 
tree. Among the leaves of the areka tree, a couple 
of little brown sparrows are now building their 
nest; beyond these are a few tropical plants, 
the names of which I do not know. By the side 
of the house, in front of my window, flows a 
branch of the river Pasig, in which I see a cus- 
tom-house boat, with its sail-cloth awning; seve- 
ral bankahs, or row-boats, with mat awnings ; seve- 
ral canoes, and several heavy boats for carrying 
off cargo to the ships. On the other side of the 
water are several houses, with their shell-glazed 
verandahs, red tile roofs, and each house is sur- 
mounted by a cross; while over the roofs of the 
houses I see the high steeple of the Binondo parish 
church, once white, but now blackened and dis- 
coloured by age, with grass growing out of the corni- 
ces, and several bells in the cupola. One of the 
houses opposite is the place for depositing cocoa- 
nut wine, where several large boats are loading and 
unloading. This being a government monopoly, seve- 
ral sentinels are keeping guard at the gates. This 
being one of the hottest parts of the day, eleven 
o'clock, a. M., very few Europeans are to be seen ; 
but there are a number of native men about. They 
are very cleanly : their dress consists of a pair of 
trowsers and a shirt, which hangs outside, and either 
a handkerchief or a hat on the head. They use a 
variety of colours for shirts and trowsers, but are 
always very clean. . . . 

Yours, most affectionately, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 129 

Manilla, Sept. 14th, 1842. 

Rev. J. C. Lowrie — Dear Brother— After spend- 
ing about three weeks in Macao, and Hong Kong, 
very busily, but very pleasantly, and accomplishing 
all that seemed necessary at that time for the pros- 
perity of the mission, a rather more than usually 
favourable opportunity of proceeding to Singapore 
was offered, which it seemed proper that I should 
embrace. It was a clipper bark, built near Calcutta, 
expressly for the trade between India and China, 
and intended to run up and down the China Sea, 
both with and against the monsoons. It is probably 
known to most persons, that the monsoons are 
periodical winds that prevail in the Bay of Bengal, 
and among the islands that separate the Pacific and 
the Indian Oceans. Those that prevail in the 
China Sea, are called the north-east and south-west 
monsoons. The north-east monsoon is commonly 
preceded by about a month of variable winds and 
frequent calms, and commences blowing from the 
north-east steadily in October. It continues till 
some time in April; then follows nearly a month of 
variable winds and calms, and about the first of 
May the south-west monsoon sets in, blowing till 
the middle or end of September, and sometimes to 
the middle of October. This is the general division; 
but these winds are subject to great irregularity in 
their commencement and termination. For example ; 
when we went up the China Sea in May, in the 
Huntress, we expected to have had the south-west 
monsoon steadily, though gently, in our favour; but, 
to our great disappointment, experienced calms and 
light and variable winds during the whole of that 
month. It was formerly thought useless for vessels 
to attempt a passage through the China sea, against 
either of the monsoons, but of late years fast-sailing 
vessels, and particularly clippers, and clipper-built 
ships, have very frequently succeeded in making a 
passage in the course of from twenty-five to thirty- 
five and forty days. In the year 1841, several ves- 



130 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

sels passed down the China Sea, from Macao to 
Singapore, in the months of June, July, and August, 
without any difficulty. Among others, the captain 
of the Sea Queen, in which I took my passage, who 
was then chief mate of another vessel, had made 
the passage in thirty days, with delightful weather 
the whole time. 

The prospect of another month at sea, after having 
just finished a four months' voyage, was not very 
pleasant; but the instructions of the Committee and 
the state of the mission seemed to require it, and 
full of hope, and anticipating a pleasant voyage, and 
safe arrival at Singapore, I embarked in the Sea 
Queen, June 18. Our progress for two or three 
weeks, though slow, was still tolerably good; and 
as nothing else of special interest occurred to occupy 
my attention, I had an opportunity of learning 
something of the character and regulations of a 
"country ship." This is a term applied, not to ves- 
sels belonging to the natives of these countries, but 
to vessels built in the East Indies, owned and com- 
manded by Europeans, and manned by Hindus or 
Malays. The greater part of them are built in 
India, of the teak, and other hard woods of that 
country, and their cordage is made of the fibres of 
the husk of the cocoa-nut. They trade principally 
between India and China, touching, however, at the 
intermediate ports. They carry rice, opium, and 
other articles to China, and return with teas, silks, 
Chinese manufactures, and the like, to India; fre- 
quently making two, and occasionally three voy- 
ages in a year. . . . 

It is of course necessary for the officers to acquire 
some knowledge of the Bengali language, as the 
crew cannot be expected to learn English. A very 
small smattering, however, commonly serves their 
purpose, consisting simply of the nautical terms 
necessary for the regulation of the ship : (barra bras, 
mainbrace ; garva bras, topsail-brace ; deman, sheet ; 
stringee, clewline; bobber, weather; barraka, sea, &c.) 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 131 

The serang and tindals are supposed to know so 
much of what is needful, for the management of the 
ship, as to require but little direction from the 
higher officers 

For ten days we made tolerably good progress; 
we then had a week of calms. Nothing is more 
trying at sea than a calm: yet it is true that 
scarcely any sight is so beautiful as that of the 
ocean in a perfect calm, — provided it does not last 
too long. The water then becomes of a blue colour, 
as beautiful as that of a field of flax in bloom : a few 
light or golden clouds float in the sky, or mirror 
themselves in the sea : while all around the surface 
of the water is calm, and smooth as glass, varied 
only by a heaving, as gentle as that of a sleeping 
infant's bosom. Now and then a faint light air 
causes a gentle simmer or a ripple on the water, like 
the smile on an infant's face when dreams are plea- 
sant in its soul. Especially is the sight beautiful 
in the evening, when the sun's last rays are 
reflected from the resplendent wave, and a sea of 
liquid gold seems to mingle with the bending 
heavens. I have sat by the ship's side for hours, 
gazing around, and mentally exclaiming : No earthly 
painter, and no earthly pencil, ever drew such gor- 
geous, such delicate, and such beautiful scenes as 
these, and yet, they are but transient reflections of 
that glorious place, where, though "there is no 
more sea," such as here we cross, yet there is a 
"sea of glass, clear as crystal," and that glass not 
frail and perishable as ours; but "pure gold, trans- 
parent as glass." Surely to stand on that sea of 
glass, having the harps of God, and to sing the song 
of Moses and the Lamb, will amply repay a few 
years of toil, and disappointment, and suffering, on 
the restless sea of life. 

Yet, beautiful as were many of the scenes wit- 
nessed in the calms, nothing is more wearisome, 
and we were soon so tired of them, that we wished 
for any other kind of weather. The S. W. monsoon 



132 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

soon recommenced, and blew very strongly. The 
weather became unsettled, and during the course 
of a month, we had almost constant gales, during 
which we lost our maintop-gallant-mast, and had so 
many sails torn by the wind, that sometimes we 
had not a topsail to spread. In addition to the 
strong wind and heavy sea, (for three weeks we 
had not a dry deck to walk upon, on account of the 
constant breaking of the sea over it,) we were ex- 
ceedingly embarrassed by adverse currents. Several 
days, when we thought we had made tolerably 
good progress to the south-west, we found, by 
observations, that we had actually been carried ten 
and twenty miles to the north-east. If our ship had 
not been almost new, she could scarcely have sus- 
tained the strain that came upon her. As it was, 
it was necessary to have the men at the pumps two 
or three times every day. As may be supposed, in 
such circumstances, our progress was exceedingly 
slow. We frequently lost as much in one day as 
we had gained in three or four; and after beating 
about for thirty-one days, we found ourselves, 
August 11, only one hundred miles nearer Singa- 
pore than on the 10th of July preceding 

It has often been said, and with truth, that no 
trial which a missionary experiences, is greater 
than that of being deprived of the advantages of 
Christian society, and of the privileges of the sanc- 
tuary. Such I found to be the case ; and it was 
difficult at times to refrain from tears, when the 
Sabbath came round, and the recollection of its 
peaceful and hallowed scenes at home rose before 
me, in contrast with the solitude of the dark and 
foam-crested waves, where, alone, I had no fellow- 
Christian with whom to worship God. Truly, 
" blessed are they that dwell in thy house; they 
will be still praising thee." But it was pleasant to 
think, and to experience that those who enjoy these 
external privileges, do not monopolize all the blessing. 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 133 

"Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee, in 
whose heart are the ways of them. '. . . . 

Finding at last that we conld not, make head 
against the currents, and that our provisions were 
nearly exhausted, we very reluctantly turned about, 
and shaped our course for Manilla, where we arrived 
safely, August 3d, sixty-six days after leaving 
Macao. And yet, great as was our disappointment, 
we found abundant cause for gratitude. The bad 
weather we had experienced had extended over a 
large part of the China Sea. An English vessel had 
been wrecked, not far from ours. Her captain and 
mate were drowned, and the crew obliged to go to 
Manilla, in their boats. Several other vessels had 
been driven back with damage, and almost all the 
vessels in Manilla Bay had dragged their anchors, 
while one or two of them were driven on shore. 
Yet we had escaped without any serious injury. 

I arrived at Manilla a perfect stranger, not know- 
ing even the name of a single person here. There 
were no Protestant missionaries in the Philippine 
Islands, and Manilla is almost the only port from 
Chusan in China to Calcutta in India, where I could 
not have found persons whom I knew, or with whom, 
from similarity of pursuits, I could not speedily 
have formed an acquaintance. Yet I had not been 
ashore an hour, before I found myself most perfectly 
at home in the house of Mr. Moore, a merchant 
from Boston, and at present acting as United States 
vice-consul. 

Such, dear brother, is my story. It may give 
you an idea of some of the difficulties of the navi- 
gation of the China Sea, and lead you to unite your 
thanks with mine for the goodness of God which 
has so manifestly attended me 

Your affectionate brother, 

W. M. Lowrie. 

12 



134 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 



SHIPWRECK OF THE HARMONY. 

Having engaged a passage from Manilla to Singa- 
pore in the Harmony, I went on board with the 
captain about noon, September 18, 1842, and found 
Messrs. M. and G., my two fellow-passengers, 
already there. It was quite calm, and w x e did not 
start till eight o'clock, p. m., when a fine breeze 
sprang up, and as the moon was shining brightly, 
we got under weigh, set studding-sails alow and 
aloft, and went off in full sail. The ship was deep- 
ly laden with more than six hundred tons of sugar, 
and drew nineteen feet of water. She was counted 
one of the fastest sailing British merchantmen in 
the Chinese waters ; but with such a cargo the cap- 
tain feared she would not sail as well as usual. 
However, she kept up with the Cecilia, a swift 
English bark, and not near so deeply laden. It 
was a lovely night, and everything looked so favour- 
able that we were all in high spirits, and had great 
hopes of a speedy voyage. By daylight next morn- 
ing* we were fifteen or twenty miles outside of 
Corregidor, which was much better success than we 
had allowed ourselves to anticipate. 

It w r as quite calm during Monday morning: but 
in the afternoon a breeze sprang up. The Cecilia 
had gone ahead of us ; but when this breeze fairly 
set in we caught up with her, and in three or four 
hours had left her five miles astern. This settled 
the point of the Harmony's sailing, and gave us 
great hopes of her future performances. The breeze 
gradually increased to a gale, and on Wednesday 
morning we were under double-reefed topsails, with 
a tremendous sea astern. I was strongly reminded 
of the waves in a gale off the Cape of Good Hope. 

* We sailed on Sabbath, September 18th. It was Manilla Saturday, 
and I observed Monday, September 19th, as Sabbath. The day before 
had been observed as Sabbath by the men, who had nothing to do 
except to get the ship under weigh in the evening. As we sailed on 
Sabbath the "morning" above mentioned was Monday morning. 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 135 

The vessel being very deeply laden, shipped a great 
deal of water : immense waves piled themselves up 
several feet above the bulwarks, and came tumbling 
in on deck, and the cabin was flooded with water 
several times. I was standing by the cabin door 
once, when a sea came over the ship's side, and 
before it was possible to escape, the water was up 
over my knees. The gale increased to a storm by 
noon, (Wednesday,) and though we were going right 
before it, its violence was so great that we were at 
last obliged to lie to, under a close-reefed main-top- 
sail, and foretopmast-staysail. Being from the east, 
it had helped us on wonderfully in our course. 

The gale moderated during the night, and the sun 
shone out the next day, though the sea continued 
rough. Friday was a pleasant day; and my sea- 
sickness being now over, everything was agreeable. 
Being now pretty well acquainted with the ship, 
the comparisons I made between her and the Sea 
Queen, in which my last voyage was made, were by 
no means favourable to the latter. The Harmony 
was a superior vessel in every respect, except that 
her cabins, though all on deck, were not so well ven- 
tilated as those of the Sea Queen. But the masts, 
rigging, and sails of the Harmony were stronger and 
neater. She was a better sailer; her crew were 
Englishmen, and her steward, (an important consid- 
eration to a passenger,) though by no means a neat, 
driving fellow, was so far superior to the filthy 
butler of the Sea Queen, that the two should not be 
named on the same day. There were a few cock- 
roaches, but no ants or centipedes. Her captain 
was a stout, hearty, good-humoured Scotchman, with 
somewhat of the Scotch pronunciation and accent. 
He was an intelligent and independent man, a per- 
fect sailor, full of sailor phrases, and as fond of his 
ship as if she were his wife. He was kind and yet 
strict with his men, and was therefore liked and 
obeyed by them. He used no profane language, 



136 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

(certainly never in my presence,) and was very 
attentive to the wants of his passengers. 

Saturday, September 24, was a cloudy day, wind 
from the west, and our course nearly south. The 
captain could not get an observation of the sun, but, 
by his reckoning, we were at noon in lat. 11 deg. 
53 min. N., and long. 114 deg. 20 min. E. This was 
a very unpleasant position, being but fifteen or 
twenty miles north of the North Danger — a small 
island, with not a tree on it, and a reef all around, 
which marks the north-western limit of the danger- 
ous archipelago of shoals in the China Sea. Accord- 
ingly, every effort was made to get to the westward, 
but the wind now became unsteady, veering about 
so much, that it was hardly possible to keep the 
ship on any course, except to the north-east, which 
was directly contrary to the course we wished 
to go. 

Sabbath morning (Sept. 25) was dark, cloudy, and 
squally : there was a heavy sea, and a rolling ship, 
with frequent showers, a hazy atmosphere, and 
exceedingly baffling winds. About ten o'clock a. m., 
the wind became steady at S. W. ; ship went off W. 
N. W. five or six miles an hour, under double- 
reefed-topsails, and the weather began to look less 
threatening. At noon the captain came down and 
changed his wet clothes, being the third time that 
day, and said the prospects were more favourable. 
"We had tiffin, and he remarked incidentally, that 
he had just been sending men aloft, but no dangers 
were to be seen, as the sea was clear on all sides. 
We were all in excellent spirits, and amused our- 
selves with conjectures as to the probable length of 
our voyage. After tiffin the captain took his segar 
and went on deck, and the passengers exchanged 
a few more sentences as to the time of arrival at 
Singapore, and were about quietly reclining on the 
sofas to read, when the ship struck against some 
obstacle with tremendous violence. It impeded her 
onward motion in a moment. We started to our 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 137 

feet; again she struck, and again she reeled like 
a drunken man. The deck quivered beneath our 
feet; and on going out we found the men running 
about, the officers giving their orders, and the terri- 
fied steward groaning and wringing his hands at the 
cabin door. So violent were the strokes, that I was 
apprehensive of the ship being broken to pieces, 
and ran to get my life-preserver. By the time I 
had it half inflated, the ship had beaten over the 
shoal, and I went up on the poop-deck. The cap- 
tain had changed the ship's course, and I found him 
giving his orders, and pacing the deck in great agi- 
tation. The shock had been so sudden and unex- 
pected, that he, as well as every one else, was 
taken completely by surprise. I had scarcely time 
to speak to him, or to reply to some observation 
that he made to me, when the vessel struck again 
with even greater violence. The sea was boiling in 
short uneasy waves on all sides, and we seemed to 
be above some deeply sunken rock, on which the 
ship's bottom was dashed every time she sunk in 
the hollow of the waves. Through the violence of 
the blows, large pieces of her keel were broken off, 
and rose to the surface; and the copper was torn 
off in masses from her bottom. At one time we 
could both see and feel the middle of the ship rising 
up, while her stem and stern sank down. In sailor's 
phrase, her "back was broken," and for a moment I 
fully expected she would break in two. 

It was an awful time : a strong wind ; a heavy 
rain falling, and an unquiet and restless sea; yet 
there were no breakers and no discoloured waters — 
the usual signs of a shoal, — and although in the 
intervals of rain we could see at least ten miles on 
every side, yet there was neither island, rock nor 
breakers in sight; nor any other sign of danger. 
Of this I am certain, for the captain requested me 
to look round and see; nay even when we were 
upon the shoal we could see nothing, for I looked 
over the ship's side when she was striking most 
12* 



138 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

heavily, and nothing was visible beneath the dark 
waters. Such shocks must be as dreadful as those 
of an earthquake, perhaps more so. They were the 
blows of an unseen enemy, and we could not tell at 
what moment we might receive another which 
should send us at once to the bottom. 

The pumps were immediately manned, and the 
water that came up tasted sweet; it had already 
reached the sugar in the hold. On sounding the 
well, three feet of water was found. The four pumps 
were kept constantly going, the main hatchway 
opened and sugar thrown overboard to lighten the 
vessel, but this was soon abandoned. Some of the 
men were employed in getting the boats ready in 
case of emergency; we packed up a few clothes 
and valuables in as small a compass as possible, and 
waited in suspense for the result. As you may 
well imagine, I was on my knees more than once. 
It was a solemn time : but my mind was kept in a 
calm and composed frame. 

We struck about half-past one, p. m. In less than 
an hour the vessel had three feet of water in the 
hold. In two hours more it had increased to six 
feet ; in less than another hour there was seven, and 
in twenty minutes more seven feet and six inches', and 
this though the four pumps were kept constantly 
going, and all drawing well. It was now near five 
o'clock, p. m., and it being evident that the ship must 
sink, the pumps were abandoned and the boats got 
ready. It was very providentially ordered for us 
that the masts had not fallen when the ship struck 
so violently, as, in that case, it would have been 
difficult to get the long boat out. It was after dark, 
perhaps nearly seven o'clock, when the boats were 
ready, and we found it a work of difficulty and dan- 
ger to get into them; for with the heavy sea run- 
ning they rose and fell more than ten Feet every 
minute. It was arranged that twenty-one, including 
the captain and passengers, should go in the long 
boat, and the mate and seven men in the jolly boat. 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 139 

We managed to get in about seven o'clock, and 
pushed off from the ship. She was then settling 
fast in the water, which was already nearly on a 
level with her deck. The lights were left burning 
in her cabin, and the noble ship, which on that 
very day one year before commenced her first voy- 
age, was left a shattered, sinking wreck. We 
wanted to see her go down, but as the sea was 
rolling heavily, wind high, and a drenching rain 
falling, it was neither comfortable nor safe to stay 
by her, and we kept the boats before the sea by 
means of small pieces of canvass. They had four oars 
in the jolly boat, and we had had as many, but three 
of them were broken in keeping the boat from dash- 
ing against the ship's side : thus we found ourselves 
in the open sea, four hundred miles from land, 
with only a single oar. A heavy rain fell almost 
constantly till midnight, from which we could have 
no protection, and in a few minutes we were 
drenched with the rain and the spray, which every 
now and then dashed over us. The boat, with so 
many persons in, was very deep in the water; and 
to add to our discomfort and apprehensions, leaked 
a good deal, so that one person was constantly 
employed in bailing her out. About midnight the 
wind and sea abated somewhat, the clouds dispersed 
a little, the moon dimly glimmered in the sky, and 
we kept on slowly to the north. Owing to the wea- 
ther, I had slept almost none the night before, 
and exhausted with want of sleep, anxiety and fa- 
tigue, I managed to rest a little towards morning, 
though how or where it would be hard to say. 

On Monday we rigged a couple of masts, and 
with a royal studding-sail, and main sky-sail, which 
had been thrown into the boat, we mustered a very 
respectable foresail and mainsail, using our whole 
oar, and one of the broken oars for yards. The 
boat was then lightened, by throwing overboard 
everything that could possibly be spared; the bag- 
gage and provisions were packed as neatly as possi- 



140 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

ble, and a man and boy taken in from the jolly boat, 
which made our whole number nineteen men and 
four boys ; a large number for a boat only twenty- 
one feet long, and eight feet broad. The provisions 
were then examined, and we found there was bread 
enough to last a week or ten days, but that we had 
a very small quantity of water. There could not 
have been more than eight or ten gallons. This 
was a cause of no little anxiety, for by our calcula- 
tions we could not be less than four hundred miles 
from Manilla, (whither we now directed our course,) 
and at that season of the year, calms, and even 
head winds, which would make our passage long, 
were not unlikely to occur. Accordingly all hands 
were put on an allowance of half a pint of water 
daily, and bread in moderation. The water was 
served out twice a day in a cup which held a gill, 
and all drank out of the same cup. I had put a 
little keg of crackers on board, which kept dry 
when all the rest were wet with rain and salt water, 
and also a small box of raisins, which proved very 
acceptable. We had a few cheeses and some cocoa- 
nuts, the milk of which served us for two days, 
thus making a great saving in our little stock 'of 
water. 

This (Monday) was a tolerably pleasant day. 
Pieces of canvass were nailed round the sides of the 
boat to keep out the spray, and having a fair light 
wind, we made some progress on our course. The 
sun shone out brightly in the afternoon, and dried 
our wet clothes, and most of us slept well that night. 
We began to cherish hopes of arriving at some land 
ere long. 

Tuesday was a terrible day. Not a cloud in the 
sky ; scarcely a breath of wind, and the hot sun of 
the torrid zone beating full upon us. There was 
but one umbrella in the boat, and we could not hoist 
an awning : but being sunburnt, and even blistered, 
was the least evil. Half a pint of water on such a 
day, when tantalized by the sight of an ocean of 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 141 

water, so clear but so salt, was a small allowance, 
and I almost prayed to be swallowed up in the 
raging sea, rather than be suffered to linger in so 
dreadful a condition. Yet there was no murmuring, 
and we all kept up our spirits. 

As the jolly boat sailed much faster than ours, 
it was thought best she should go on ahead. She 
could be of no service to us, nor we to her, by 
keeping company, and by going on, she might escape 
danger, and even find means of assisting us. Ac- 
cordingly she left us this afternoon, and we after- 
wards regretted deeply that she had not done so 
sooner. This night I slept badly; the baggage 
had been shifted to put the boat in better sailing 
trim, and there was not room to place one's self 
comfortably; lying down was at any time out of 
the question, for want of room. A fine favourable 
breeze sprang up soon after dark, and we made 
good progress. 

On Wednesday the breeze became stronger, with 
a heavy sea. We went rapidly on, and in our lone- 
ly course found amusement in watching the large 
flocks of boobies that in some places almost covered 
the sea. They came around us in great numbers, 
and alighted on the yards, and even on the sides of 
the boat. In his eagerness to catch one the boat- 
swain fell overboard, affording us all a hearty laugh 
at his expense. Several showers fell near us about 
dark, and we hoped to have caught some water, but 
could not. Slept miserably. In the part of the 
boat where I was, which was about six feet by 
eight in size, there were four persons to sleep, and 
one constantly employed in baling out the water. 

Thursday morning commenced with rain, which 
soon wet us to the skin; but we did not mind that, 
for Ave caught several buckets-full of water, which, 
in the low ebb of our water-cask, gave us great joy ; 
and we ate our breakfast in high spirits. For fear 
of suffering from thirst, I ate but little, seldom 



142 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

taking more than three small crackers a day, and a 
mouthful of cheese with a bunch of raisins. 

From the progress we had made the night before, 
we had great hopes of seeing land either to-day, or 
early on the following, but we soon began to think 
of other things. About ten o'clock the wind rose, 
the sea ran very high, and frequent squalls of wind 
and rain darkened the heavens and drenched us to 
the skin. The captain sent the best helmsman to 
the tiller, and sat down himself by the compass, and 
for eight long hours he did not move from his seat. 
Conversation ceased; and scarcely a word was ut- 
tered in all that time, except the orders from the 
captain to the helmsman, " Port ! Port your helm, 
quick ! Hard a-port ! Starboard now ! Mind your 
port-helm," &c. Many a longing, anxious look did 
we cast before us to see if there were any signs of 
land ; but still more to the west, to see if the gale 
gave signs of abating. But no ! Darker and darker 
grew the heavens over us ; higher and higher 
rose the sea; louder and louder still roared the 
waves as they rushed past our little boat, and faster 
fell the rain. If a single one of those waves had 
come over the boat's side, it w T ould have over- 
whelmed and swallowed up the boat, and every one 
on board ; and it was only by the utmost care and 
skill that she was kept before them. 

Death never seemed so near before. An emo- 
tion of sorrow passed through my mind, as I thought 
of my friends at home who w T ould, probably, be long 
in suspense in regard to my fate; and of regret, as 
I thought of the work for which I had come ; but 
for myself, my mind was kept in peace. I knew 
in whom I had believed, and felt that He was able 
to save; and though solemn in the near prospect of 
eternity, I felt no fear, and had no regret that I had 
perilled my life in such a cause. 

Thus the day wore away, and night approached 
without any signs of more moderate weather. The 
wind was now so strong, and the sea so high, that 



MEMOIR OP WALTER M. LOWRIE. 143 

it was with the utmost danger that we could hold 
on our course. Everything was wet, and we tried 
in vain to get a light for the compass ; besides, by 
our calculations, we could not be more than thirty 
or forty miles from land ; and at the rate we were 
going, should reach it about midnight; but to at- 
tempt to land in such a sea, in the dark, would be 
madness itself. What could we do ? Backwards, 
or sideways, we could not go, on account of the sea ; 
to go forward was to throw our lives away; to 
remain where we were, even if it were possible, seemed 
to be remaining in the very jaws of death. It was, 
however, our only hope, if hope it could be called, 
and accordingly preparations were made for heaving 
the boat to. The foresail was taken down, and 
securely fastened to the yard; the largest cord we 
could muster (about thirty fathoms) attached to this 
and to the boat. The mainsail was then lowered, 
and watching our opportunity, the foresail was 
thrown overboard, cord paid out, and the boat's 
head turned to the wind. This last was a most 

Eerilous operation ; for had a wave struck her while 
er broadside was exposed to it, all would have 
been over with us. The plan, however, succeeded 
admirably. The little foresail being between the 
wind and the boat, it served to break the force of 
the waves ; and as it lay flat on the water, it was 
not acted on by the wind; and thus served also as 
an anchor to keep the boat's head to the wind. 
We then had the mainsail hoisted up in the form of 
a staysail, to keep the boat steady, and thus we 
were hove to. 

For a while, the result was very uncertain. The 
wind howled past us with a force that made every 
plank in the boat quiver ; the rain fell in torrents, 
with the violence of small hailstones, nearly all the 
night; and we could hear the great waves as they 
formed and rose away ahead of us, and then rushed 
toward us, with a sound like the whizzing of an im- 
mense rocket. Sometimes they would strike us as 



144 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

if with a heavy hammer, causing the hoat to jump 
bodily away ; and then again, their white, foaming, 
phosphorescent crests would be piled up by our 
sides, as if, the next moment, they would dash in 
and overwhelm us in an instant. There we lay, 
packed together so closely that we could scarcely 
move ; while every now and then, a dash of spray 
came over us, covering us with pale phosphoric 
sparks that spread a dim and fearful light for a few 
inches around. Oh, it was a dreadful night ! There 
was distress and perplexity, the sea and the waves 
roaring, and men's hearts failing them for fear. 

Not one of our company, I will venture to say, had 
any expectation of seeing the light of another day. 
For myself, I thought deliberately of each and every 
member of our family, and breathed a silent fare- 
well to each : of many of my friends by name, of 
former scenes and seasons : of various missionary 
fields, and offered prayers for each and all : of my 
own past life, and of the certainty, for so it then 
seemed to me, that in a few hours I should enter on 
the untried realities of which I had so often thought. 
I know not that my mind was ever in a calmer 
state, or that I could more deliberately reflect on 
what I wished to fix my thoughts upon : and though 
I could not feel those clear convictions of my safety 
I have sometimes felt, yet my faith was fixed on 
the Rock of Ages, and death seemed to have but 
few terrors for me. In such a night, and with such 
expectations, it was wrong to sleep; and though 
benumbed with the rain and cold, and almost ex- 
hausted for want of rest, I did not close my eyes 
during the whole time. Many precious Scripture 
truths passed through my mind; such as — "When 
thou passest through the waters I will be with thee, 
and through the rivers, they shall not overflow 
thee," which I applied to myself in a spiritual man- 
ner; for, situated as we were, I could scarcely ex- 
pect to have them literally fulfilled. I know not 
when I felt more strongly the delightful sublimity 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 145 

of the expression, " He holdeth the waters in the 
hollow of his hand," or the feeling of security even 
for the body, which for a moment it gave me. 

As you may suppose, there were few words 
spoken, and the only sound we heard, besides the 
wind and rain and the roaring sea, was that of the 
l)0} r s baling out the water. Towards two or three 
o'clock in the morning, (by our conjectures, for we 
had no light to see with,) the wind and sea seemed 
to abate, and rinding we shipped very little water, 
we began to hope that our lives might yet be spared. 
The morning slowly dawned, but as it dawned the 
wind and sea increased. As soon as we could see, 
the foresail was hauled in and hoisted to the wind, 
and the mainsail spread, and we commenced again 
our perilous course. Soon the cry, "Land ho!" was 
raised, and when the morning had fairly dawned, 
we saw it stretching along right before us, about ten 
miles off. We must have been driven many miles 
during the night to be so near it. Soon our hopes 
were greatly excited, for the land had the appear- 
ance precisely of that about the entrance of Manilla 
Bay. We could see what we took to be Point Hor- 
nos, Mount Mariveles, the island Corregidor, and 
the Lora Mountains ; and we were rilled with joy 
at the prospect of so soon ending our voyage. 

We steered directly for the land, meaning to get 
behind some projecting point, and wait till the sea 
became calm. Meanwhile, however, the wind and 
sea rose again; the heavens became black behind 
us, and there was a great rain. To our sorrow, 
also, we found that we had mistaken the land, for 
none of us had ever seen it before. But it was too 
late to go back, the squall was upon us ; and though 
the rain fell so fast that we could not see more than 
twenty yards, yet on we must go. There was a 
little island on the right, and the captain was on 
the point of steering the boat so as to get round 
under its lee, when we saw heavy breakers right 
ahead. We turned off to the left, though at an 



146 MEMOIK OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

imminent risk, for this brought our broadside to the 
sea, and several light waves dashed over us. 
There were breakers on the left too, but we were 
directed in a channel, between them, and rounding 
a projecting point of rocks, we saw a little cove 
sheltered from the wind, and as smooth as an inland 
lake. Soon our boat touched the bottom, only a 
few yards from the shore. We jumped overboard, 
secured her by ropes to two or three trees, and we 
were safe ! It was a time of joy. With one con- 
sent, we gathered together under the trees, and 
offered up our thanksgiving and praises to God, 
with prayers for future assistance and protection. 
It was a scene worthy of a painter's skill, — our 
little boat fastened to the trees, our scanty baggage 
piled upon the shore, and ourselves under the cus- 
tard-apple trees, standing with upturned faces, 
while the rain dropped upon our bare heads, as we 
lifted up our voices, and I trust our hearts also, to 
that God who had held the winds in his fist, and 
the waters in the hollow of his hand, and had 
brought us through dangers which we never ex- 
pected to survive. It was well we came in when 
we did, for it was then high tide, and a few hours 
later the channel through which we had passed, 
was itself one mass of breakers. Our boat would 
inevitably have been dashed to pieces there, and 
some, if not all of us, would have perished among 
the waves. 

After all due attention to our boat, and having 
refreshed ourselves with biscuit, raisins, cheese, and 
plenty of water, (for there were several streams only 
a few yards from our landing place,) our next care 
was to find where we were. We knew it to be an 
island, for as we came in we had seen land at a 
great distance eastward, which we supposed to be 
Luconia; but we were not certain whether we were 
north or south of the entrance of Manilla Bay. 
From a little point hard by the landing-place, we 
saw a telegraph station on a hill, and thus con- 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWR1E. 147 

eluded that the island was inhabited, and probably 
by Spaniards. Accordingly, Captain Smith, Mr. 
G\, (who spoke both Spanish and English,) and my- 
self, started to discover what we might. Chun Sing 
brought me a cutlass that had been saved in the 
long boat; but being a man of peace, I told him to 
take it to the captain, and armed myself simply 
with a walking-stick. Thus accoutred, we set off; 
but Mr. GL, weakened by exposure and want of 
food, broke down in less than three hundred yards, 
and declared he could go no further. He went back 
to the company we had left by the boat, and the 
captain and myself went on alone to the telegraph 
station. We found it deserted. Thence we kept 
on, and soon saw a bullock tied Hj the nose, a pile 
of boards and some paddy (rice) fields ; sure signs 
that inhabitants were near. We were now joined 
by about a dozen of the sailors, two of whom had 
cutlasses, and the rest walking-sticks, and a Portu- 
guese, who had been in the long boat, and spoke a 
little Spanish and English. Altogether we were a 
remarkable looking company, and being high in 
spirits from our late wonderful escape, we went on 
right merrily, save that our mirth was often checked 
by allusions to the other boat. We all thought she 
was lost, judging it impossible she could have 
weathered such a gale, and that all on board must 
have perished. 

Finding a narrow path, we followed it over a hill 
and down a little valley, and presently came to a 
pumpkin field, in which was a little native house, 
and some Indians eating boiled pumpkins. They 
very kindly gave us some, and one of them who 
spoke Spanish told us there was a village about a 
mile off, where the Resguardo, (an officer under the 
Spaniards,) would receive and entertain us. He 
went along to show the road, and off we went, but 
instead of one mile it must have been three. We 
crossed hills, went through valleys, picked our way 
among bushes, through mud half-knee deep, and 



148 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

along the sea-shore, fording a great many small 
brooks, and being wet several times with rain ; but 
we were used to the rain, and did not regard that. 
The sand got into my shoes, and I had to go bare- 
foot most of the way. We passed several natives 
cutting wood; met several riding on bullocks, one 
of whom was so polite as to take off his hat when 
he saw us ; and at length came to the village. It 
was a collection of some twenty or thirty huts by 
the sea-shore, and all the windows and doors of the 
houses were crowded with women and children, who 
gazed at us as if we had fallen from the skies. 

Our guide led us to the house of the Resguardo, 
when who should come running to meet us but Mr. 
Fillin (the mate) and one of the men who had gone 
in the jolly boat. " Oh, captain," said the former, 
"is this you? How many of }^ou are saved?" 
"Thank God, we are all safe, but I thought you 
were lost! Are you all alive ?" " I've lost four men, 
sir! 

They had arrived in sight of land the previous 
afternoon about four o'clock, and when some four 
miles off, a tremendous sea came upon them, turned 
the boat clear end over end, and threw them all 
into the sea. Two or three clung to the boat, but 
were washed off by the waves ; another (the best 
swimmer in the ship) tried to swim ashore, but must 
have been dashed against the rocks and carried out 
by a back current; while the mate and this other 
man, taking each an oar, had made for the land, and 
succeeded in getting ashore, through the surf, 
though with great difficulty and danger. Mr. F. 
was much bruised and cut about the feet by the 
coral rocks, and for two or three days was scarcely 
able to move. They had spent the night upon the 
rocks near the place where they landed. The next 
morning they found their boat and the oars, but saw 
no signs of their companions. They then started 
to find a house, and after several hours of very 
laborious walking, arrived at this village, only half 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 149 

an hour before we did, and were just telling the 
people they supposed all the rest of the ship's com- 
pany were lost, when we came in sight. It was a 
joyful, yet a sorrowful meeting. 

The people of the house received us kindly, and 
gave us hot coffee, eggs and sweet cakes, which, in 
our condition, dripping wet and cold, were very 
acceptable indeed. The house was crowded full of 
people, old and young, to gaze at us., and a big Ma- 
nilla bloodhound in the corner gave us surly growls 
by way of music. It was Friday, Sept. 30, when 
we landed. We stopped in the village of Loc, 
island of Luban, at the house of Senor Nicolas Per- 
ralta, the chief man of the village, and an Indian, 
there being no Spaniards on the island. We stayed 
there two days, and were treated with much kind- 
ness by Senor Perralta, who gave us his own best 
room for our lodging. It was not furnished with 
beds, but we slept on the bare and not very even 
floor with much comfort, when we compared it with 
the crowded rough bottom of the long-boat. The 
inhabitants were poor, and we bought our own pro- 
visions, which our own cook and steward prepared 
for us. 

But my story is growing too long, and I must 
draw it to a close. We remained in Luban two 
days ; then hired a potine, or native schooner, with 
"mucho mulos velos !" amazingly torn and ragged 
sails, for $100, in which we left Luban on Sabbath 
morning, Oct. 2, for Manilla, (according to Manilla 
time, which we then used, it was Saturday.) We 
reached Manilla about two o'clock, p. m., the next 
day. The silly captain of the potine had almost 
wrecked us again in a squall off Corregidor at mid- 
night, and had it not been for Captain Smith's pre- 
sence of mind, who sent one of his own men to the 
helm, and took command himself, we should cer- 
tainly have been cast away on the rocks of Point 
Limbones. 

Mr. and Mrs. Moore and Mr. G. Sturgis were 



150 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

seated at the fruit table when I re-entered their 
house. For a while they could scarce believe their 
eyes, and it was not till I spoke that they could 
believe it was the same person who had left them 
only two weeks before in full hope of a speedy voy- 
age to Singapore. They received me most kindly. 
Great was the sympathy expressed by all classes 
in Manilla. The news of our shipwreck and won- 
derful escape spread like wildfire, for every one had 
seen and admired the Harmony, and every one knew 
and liked her captain. I received my full share of 
sympathy; but as an offset to this, had also the 
satisfaction of hearing that many of the sailors in 
the harbour attributed the loss of the vessel entirely 

to her having that clergyman on board ! The 

long-boat was visited and inspected by many in 
Manilla, who could scarce believe it possible that 
twenty-three persons had been stowed away in so 
small a space ; and how we weathered such a gale, 
which was severely felt in the roads at Manilla, 
where many ships had dragged their anchors, was 
a wonder to all. Captain Cole, of the Delhi, a large 
American vessel, which had been obliged to lie to 
in the same gale, told me he considered our escape 
little less than miraculous. Indeed the more I have 
heard of the ravages of that gale, the more I am 
astonished at our escape. During the very time we 
were most exposed to its fury in the long-boat, a 
Spanish vessel, was driven ashore on Luconia and 
lost, and the Conrade, an English vessel, was thrown 
on her beam ends, dismasted and finally foundered, 
while one-half of her crew were drowned. 

When I look back and consider how many won- 
derful circumstances conspired to secure our safety 
in the midst of most imminent danger, it is hard to 
believe that it has been a reality. It seems, even 
now, like some terrible dream from which I have 
hardly yet awaked. 

It was most providential for us that the ship 
struck by day, and not by night; that her masts 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 151 

did not go overboard when she struck, as they cer- 
tainly would have done, had she not been a new 
and strong vessel; that we got safely into the boats 
in the dark with that heavy sea running; that we 
had provisions enough, and sails when our oars were 
broken; that we weathered that severe gale; that 
by daylight we were so near the land ; that we 
escaped the breakers by coming in at high tide; 
that we found that little sheltered cove; that we 
met such kind treatment at Luban ; that we arrived 
safely at Manilla, notwithstanding the dangers of 
Corregidor, and that none of us (so far as 1 know) 
have suffered any serious inconvenience from so 
much exposure to sea, and sun, and wind, and rain. 
All that I experienced was a soreness in my limbs 
and a slight fever for several hours after we 
landed on Luban. I cut a walking-stick the day we 
left that island, which has been mounted and sent 
to my father as a memento of that wonderful deliv- 
erance, and I am sure that all our family will join 
me in the prayer, that the life thus spared may be 
devoted to Him who first gave it to me, and now 
has rescued it from the engulfing sea; that though 
I shall not attain to the eminence of that Moses 
who was drawn out of the waters, I may yet, in 
some humble degree, be like him — a leader to res- 
cue Grod's chosen people in China, and lead them 
like a flock in the green pastures of his holy word. 
I must not omit to mention two other items of 
great importance, in which the hand of God was 
manifested for our preservation; the first was that 
the cord, which, by means of the foresail, held the 
boat's head to the wind, did not chafe or give way, 
notwithstanding the constant strain upon it. We 
were very apprehensive of this, for it was not as 
thick as a man's thumb, and our lives seemed to de- 
pend upon that little cord. The second was that 
the heavy gale we had on Thursday and Thursday 
night was from the ivest. Had it been an easterly 
gale ; like the one Ave experienced in the same place 



152 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

only nine days before, it would either have entirely 
overwhelmed us, or else have sent us half way to 
Cochin China. Even the heavy rain, uncomfortable 
as it was, tended to our safety, for it kept the sea 
from raging as it would otherwise have done. A 
heavy rain has something of the effect of oil on the 
waters. It keeps the waves clown. 

As so many persons were to go in the long boat 
it was impossible to save anything, except absolute 
necessaries and valuables of small size. All I saved, 
therefore, was my watch, my pencil case given by 
Mr. B., what little specie I had in the vessel, (about 
$100 in gold,) the clothes on my back, and a few 
other articles of dress, my Bible, and my cloak. 
Everything was wet through by the rain and salt 
water, except my Bible, which 1 had taken the pre- 
caution to envelope in the thick fold of the cloak, 
and which was thus only slightly damp. Everything 
else was abandoned. Fortunately I had but a 
small part of my books with me, perhaps one-fifth. 
Among these were all my Chinese books ; a volume 
of Flavel, which I prize above its weight in gold ; a 
number of valuable papers, and all my written ser- 
mons. With my clothes and other articles thus 
abandoned, were some parcels sent from the mis- 
sionaries in China to their friends in Singapore, 
Bangkok and Malacca. 

Arrived at Manilla, it was with some difficulty I 
could muster a suit of clothes to "go ashore." I 
had my coat and pantaloons, a pair of slippers, a 
shirt without bosom and collar, a pair of woollen 
stockings, and a cap that barely covered my head. 
I had no vest, but that was concealed by buttoning 
the coat; collars are not indispensable, and I 
borrowed a rusty black cravat from Capt. Smith, 
who happened to have two or three. In such a 
suit, with my sunburnt face, (from which the skin 
all peeled off in a few days,) my Luban walking- 
stick, and my cloak on my arm ; I set foot in Man- 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 153 

ilia again. But I was among kind friends. Mr. 
and Mrs. Moore supplied every want. 

I was at some loss, then, what course to take, but 
finally thought it best to return to China. Mr. 
Elgar, the brother of Mrs. Moore, gave me a free 
passage to Hong Kong, in a vessel of which he was 
part owner, and for that place I embarked October 
10th, with several fellow-passengers. When we left 
Manilla, in the Harmony, the port-captain, who 
came off to give the ship her clearance, was very 
merry, and said to me, "Ah, senor padre, vengas 
casar senor Moore !" (Ah, sir priest, you only came 
here to marry Mr. Moore.) But when he came to 
give the Diana her clearance, his manner was quite 
altered, and almost melancholy, as he said, "Ah, 
senor padre, no otro matrimonio! no otro matri- 
monio !" 

We reached Hong Kong safely, though after a 
rather rough passage, on the 17th of October; just 
four months after I had left Macao for Singapore. 
Through what varied scenes I had passed, yet out 
of them all the Lord delivered me. In the Sea 
Queen I had an opportunity of studying the first 
part of Acts xxvii. From my experience on board 
the Harmony, I have come to a better understanding 
of the latter part of the same chapter. 

" Oh, that men would praise the Lord for his good- 
ness, and for his wonderful works to the children 
of men. And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of 
thanksgivings, and declare his works with rejoicing. 
They that go down to the sea in ships, that do busi- 
ness in the great waters, these see the works of the 
Lord, and his wonders in the deep. For he com- 
mancleth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth 
up the waves thereof. They mount up to the 
heavens, they go down again to the depths; their 
soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and 
fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at 
their wits' end. Then they cry unto the Lord, 
and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He 



154 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof 
are still. Then they are glad, because they be 
quiet. So he bringeth them to their desired haven." 

W. M. Lowrie. 



Macao, December 17th, 1842. 

My Dear Father — The Bazaar arrived here to- 
day from Singapore, of which I was informed by 
having a packet of letters sent to me. Opening it, I 
found letters for Mr. Buell, Mr. McBryde, Dr. Hep- 
burn, and to my great satisfaction, two for myself, 
one of wdiich was from you, dated May 12th. I read 
it very speedily, and could hardly refrain from tears 
as I did so. Had you known precisely my feelings 
at the present time, you could hardly have written 
anything more appropriate than its conclusion. It 
was written to encourage me in trials, and to point 
me to the sure source of consolation. Trials Tiave 
come upon me within the last twelve months, wave 
after wave, and each one, like Job's messengers, 
more severe than the preceding, and for awhile I 
thought I could hardly sustain them. My leaving 
home was a trial, but for that I was prepared by 
long expectation, and sustained by special communi- 
cations of grace. My delays in the Sea Queen, and 
the exceedingly unpleasant accommodations there 
tried me mucn more severely ; but it was profitable, 
and taught me many useful lessons, the benefit of 
which I experienced when shipwrecked in the Har- 
mony. Besides these outward trials, I have expe- 
rienced much anxiety in deciding on the best course 
to be pursued in relation to the China mission. In 
these circumstances you can scarcely understand 
how much I was encouraged by that train of thought 
which connects our tribulations here, and our poor 
weak services, with the glory of the Saviour, and 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 155 

the inconceivable displays of his wisdom, justice, 
love, and mercy, as manifested to the universe on 
the judgment day ! 

Affectionately } T our son, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



Macao, December 24th, 1842. 

My Dear Mother — Yesterday was a happy day 
for me. You know how I have been disappointed 
hitherto about getting my letters. They had all 
gone on to Singapore, and when the Bazaar came up, 
and did not bring them, I was afraid that I might 
have a long time to wait yet, before they came to 
hand. Yesterday morning Mr. Bridgman's ser- 
vant came over from Hong Kong, and brought me 
a packet that had been sent there by mistake. I 
opened it, and behold, one, two, three, four, yes, 
fourteen letters, from father and mother, and John 
C, and Elizabeth, and John M. I put up my Chi- 
nese books in all haste, and sent off to tell my 
teacher he "need not come to-day," and then — did 
not I have a feast? You do not know in the United 
States what a letter is worth. When you are sepa- 
rated only a few hundred miles, and have regular 
mails, it is nothing very special to have a letter once 
a month or so. But when the sun is shining on 
you, while your friends are sleeping on the other 
side of the world, ah, that is a different thing. My 
first emotion was one of sincere gratitude for such 
a favour ; and my second, perplexity which to open 
first; and you would have been amused could you 
have seen me, while I was reading. Sometimes I 
laughed till the tears came into my eyes ; sometimes 
a sentence brought other tears, and yet not tears of 
sorrow these; and sometimes a sigh escaped me, as 
I thought of the blasted hopes and disappointments 
implied in some of the various items of news that 



156 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

met my eye. I seemed to be among you again, and 
lived over the day of parting, and the few preced- 
ing weeks. And yet, eleven months and more have 
Eassed since then ! and what remarkable things have 
appened in that time ! at least to myself, for as far 
as I can gather, you have had but few important 
changes since I left. 

.... I am well, and contented, and happy, 
though still sometimes lonely, and occasionally per- 
plexed. My future movements are still uncertain. 
With much affection, and many fond remembran- 
ces, 

I remain truly yours, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



Macao, December 27th, 1842. 

James Lenox, Esq. — My Dear Sir: — I have 
lately received, by the Bazaar, a volume of the 
British Reformers, which my father informs me is 
from yourself. The receipt of it gave me much plea- 
sure, not merely on account of the intrinsic worth 
of the book, but principally because it assured me 
I was still kindly remembered in a family, with 
which my intercourse, though short, was very plea- 
sant. 

A missionary to China, I find, has need of a good 
many qualifications ; and at present it seems proba- 
ble that one qualification of which he will find pecu- 
liar need, is a thorough acquaintance with the 
writings and spirit of the ancient Beformers from 
Popery. One of the very greatest difficulties with 
which we shall have to contend, will arise from the 
opposition of the Boman Catholics. It is impossible 
to say how many native Boman Catholics there are 
in China. Probably the accounts their priests give 
of their numbers are exaggerated ; but it is certain 
there are many. Their priests, too, are far more 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 157 

numerous than the Protestant missionaries; and 
being all unmarried, and many of them zealous and 
active, and enterprising, they bid fair to go far 
ahead of Protestant missions. I do not think that 
their celibacy is any advantage in the long run, nor 
would I wish to see many unmarried Protestant 
missionaries here ; but a few of the right spirit are 
greatly needed. If we had some twenty or thirty 
single men, of thoroughly cultivated minds, and 
prepared to submit to trials and privations to which 
a lady ought not to be exposed, I should not, 
humanly speaking, be much afraid of the contest 
with Popery in China. At present, however, there 
is no prospect whatever of such a band coming out 
to join us; and the few who are here are scarcely 
able, — indeed we are not able, — to occupy the ports 
already thrown open, but must stand still and see 
the Popish priests go, not two and two, but by 
sixes and tens, and establish themselves in every 
place where a foothold can be gained. Already 
they have erected a bishoprick at Shanghai, though 
I have not heard that a single Protestant missionary 
is going there. I do not think that many of the 
priests in China, or in that swarming Romish hive, 
Luconia, are men of much ability, or of extensive 
acquirements. Some of them, however, are; and 
they will easily make up in numbers what they 
lack in mental culture, while the perfect subordina- 
tion of their system gives them advantages which 
we look at, but cannot hope to equal. There is, 
indeed, scarcely anything in reference to China that 
gives me so many distressing apprehensions as the 
activity of the Romish priests, contrasted as it is 
with the apathy of Protestant churches in England 
and America. England has only three, and America 
only thirteen missionaries actually in China; and if 
the whole number labouring for China were collected, 
they would not amount to thirty, of whom not more 
than one-half are qualified by acquaintance with the 
language for efficient labour. It is true that the 

14 



158 MEMOIR OP WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

God we serve is able abundantly to produce the 
greatest effects by the fewest and simplest means, 
but the time does not seem yet to have come when 
a nation shall be born in a day ; and till that time 
comes, perhaps I should say, in order that it may 
come, we must use means in some decree propor- 
tioned to the results we hope for. But I have filled 
up my sheet with what, perhaps, will not be very 
interesting to you. I had no intention of writing 
at all on this subject when I took up my pen, but 
the mention of the British Reformers led my mind 
to a subject that often has a painful interest to me. 
I cannot see through it, but I feel that we who 
labour in China will have great need of the "faith 
and patience of the saints" of olden times, if we ex- 
pect to maintain our standing here against the last 
efforts and long-protracted dying agonies, for such 
I believe they will be, of the man of sin. 

I often think of you, and of the pleasant Sabbath 
I spent at New Hamburgh. It would give me great 
pleasure to hear from you at any time ; a letter, in 
these ends of the earth, is an object of great value. 

I am, with much respect and esteem, truly yours, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



Macao, December 29th, 1842. 

My Dear Father — Since my letter of December 
17, sent by the Delhi, I have received yours of 
February 22 and March 12, May 3 and June 4, 
for all of which I am under very great obligations 
to you. It is a little remarkable, that though you 
have probably less time for writing than any of the 
family, yet you have written more than all the rest 
of them put together, and given me more news. 
Many particulars in your letters have interested me 
very deeply, particularly those concerning the 
funds, and your efforts to increase them, and your 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 159 

accounts of Princeton students, and the prospect of 
more missionaries. As to the former subject, I fear 
it will be many years before the Church comes up 
even in a moderate degree to her duty. Indeed, 1 
have long thought, that the present generation of 
Christians will never do all that may be expected. 
As long as a Christian man is allowed to give five 
dollars for his annual subscription to the missionary 
work, and the next day buy fifty dollars' worth of 
tulips, and yet retain his standing in the Church, I 
have little hopes of seeing the right spirit prevail. 
I have thought, therefore, for years, that our hopes 
are in the Sabbath-schools. None are so easily 
interested in missions as children, and none may be 
so easily trained to proper principles as they. I 
have sent by the Akbar four letters to Sabbath- 
school children. They are just such as I used to 
speak to the children of my Sabbath-schools, and 
nothing that ever I said interested them so much. 
They are intended for the "Foreign Missionary," 
and I shall probably send some more soon. If they 
are judged suitable, I can furnish a good number of 
them gradually. Of course originality is not the 
main thing in such articles, although I know that to 
four-fifths of the Sunday-school children, in our 
churches, e^en to those at your very doors, the 
facts I have stated, and may yet state, will possess 
all the freshness of some new discovery. I have 
seen a whole school staring with eyes and mouth 
open, at the narration of the commonest facts in 
regard to the heathen; and it is mainly for want of 
early instruction and training in regard to the facts 
and principles of missions, that you find it so diffi- 
cult to bring the churches to give freely of their 
substance to further them. This opinion is formed 
on a more thorough knowledge of the real state of 
the case, than is generally possessed. I hope to 
send soon some thoughts on this subject, founded 
mainly on facts that I have seen, and inferences 
that seem to me to be justly drawn from them. 



160 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

.... I propose to study Chinese pretty dili- 
gently for the next three months ; by that time 1 
hope to hear from you, and to know definitely who 
is coming, if anybody, and when. After that I 
may have to go to Hong Kong, as all the mission- 
aries will probably leave this place in March. 
With much love for yourself and all the family, 
I remain your affectionate son, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



Macao, December 29th, 1842. 

Mr. John Lloyd — My Dear John : — Though I 
have several friends, who, if they knew I was writing 
to you, might think they had a prior claim to yours 
just now, yet the associations and recollections of 
this day lead my mind most strongly to yourself; 
and though I have written one letter of some length 
to you since I came out, yet I feel as if I wanted 
to send another. . . . 

This day is the anniversary of my spiritual birth ; 
eight years ago to-day ! What would I not have 
given eight years ago, to have been assured that I 
should persevere thus long in the Christian course ? 
If any one had shown me all the temptations and 
trials I was to experience in that time, and then 
assured me that I should survive them all, and be 
the better for them, I could scarcely have believed 
him. Yet it has been so, and having obtained help 
of God, I continue to this day, and humbly hope, 
that through him I shall persevere even to the end. 
I trust he has taught me to look upward both for 
strength and for happiness, and more so lately than 
ever before. My soul doth, therefore, magnify the 
Lord. 

I spent the greater part of this afternoon in read- 
ing over your letters. I wish I had yourself here 
to talk to, for I sometimes feel a little lonely; especi- 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 161 

ally as both my colleagues are at present at other 
stations, and it will be some little time before we 
can get together. 

So many things crowd upon me, that I hardly 
know what to write about. I could easily tell you 
a long story of adventures and perils, and strange 
sights and scenes, and wonderful deliverances, but 
I have not time for that, and you will probably see 
some of them in the Chronicle. Many of them I 
must reserve for your private ear, "when we meet 
in Pekin, China," as you said in one of the letters I 
read this afternoon. I am now devoting some five 
or six hours daily to Chinese ; and though as yet I 
have made little progress, (it is only a month since 
I commenced it regularly,) yet I feel somewhat 
encouraged. It will be long, however, I fear, before 
I can speak it at all ; and 1 fear that at best, I shall 
have to speak "with stammering lips and another 
tongue, to this people." Owing to uncertainty as 
to my future location, I have thought it best to 
commence the Court dialect, (commonly called the 
Mandarin,) which is not spoken, except by the lit- 
erati and public officers. My progress will, on this 
account, be slower at first, but I think more rapid, 
steady, and successful in the end. 

I know you are anxious to know how I feel about 
matters and things in general, and though it is yet 
too soon to speak definitely, yet to you I can speak 
freely; for you will know how to account for it, if 
I should afterwards change my opinions. So far, 
my fears have been mostly disappointed, and my 
expectations more than realized. I think that for 
two or three years before leaving the United States, 
I had as little romance in regard to missions, as any 
one could have, who had never been actually on 
heathen ground. Consequently I have not been 
disappointed. Parting with friends was a sore trial, 
but I had so long expected it, and prayed for sus- 
taining grace, that I found it far less difficult to 
bear than I had anticipated. It was a great relief 
14* 



162 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

to me that it was quickly over. The ship left the 
wharf at half-past twelve, and I was truly glad that 
none of my friends came with me to the Hook. I 
have at present no wish to return. Since I landed 
in China I have, as you are aware, had a pretty full 
share of trials. Now no chastisement for the pre- 
sent is joyous but grievous. So I found them. 
Nevertheless, although the remembrance of them is 
yet fresh, and the unpleasant effects of them still 
continue to a degree, yet from what I have already 
felt, I am fully assured that afterwards they shall 
yield to me the peaceable fruits of righteousness. 
In general the year, (it is nearly a year,) which 
has past since I left New York, has been one of the 
happiest I have ever spent ; and I now look back 
on it with as much satisfaction as any other equal 
portion of my life, perhaps I should say with more 
satisfaction. I came out almost unwillingly. I felt 
loath to leave a field I had lonoj desired to occupy : 
I have not found everything here arranged as I 
desired, nor have I been able to accomplish all that 
1 wished. I have been in unpleasant society: I 
have suffered in body : I have hung in the jaws of 
death for hours together, not expecting to live from 
one moment to another : I have been obliged to wait 
for months and months for letters from home, and I 
am now in a station where I have no colleagues in 
the same mission, and do not expect to have for 
some months ; and yet with all these adverse cir- 
cumstances, I am glad I came, and pray that I may 
be suffered to remain. The work is great; there 
is plenty of it. A wide and effectual door is opened, 
there are few to enter, while the enemy is very 
busy sowing tares. I do not think there is that 
promise of immediate usefulness here that there is 
in many other places. I hardly hope to see such 
churches formed here soon as have been formed in 
Africa, and in India, and in the islands of the sea. 
Indeed, I may never have the privilege of seeing 
any Christian church formed here; yet, notwith- 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 163 

standing all this, I think the prospect of usefulness 
is very great indeed ; and for men of the right spirit 
and qualifications , who are willing to wait for the 
fruit of their labours till they enter heaven, if it be 
their Master's will that they wait thus long, I know 
of few fields so inviting. At present, I think the 
great difficulty is the language ; but every year this 
difficulty is becoming less, as new facilities in the 
way of books for its acquisition are being prepared, 
and places are opened where free intercourse with 
persons who speak it in its purity is allowed. In a 
few years I think it will not be considered a very 
difficult task for persons of good common sense, per- 
severance, and ordinary abilities to acquire it. At 
present, however, let nobody who cannot study 
Latin and Greek, and who is subject to the dys- 
pepsia, come out to China. They had better go 
elsewhere. Such being my views, dear brother, I 
have some commands to lay upon you, — the first 
and chief of which is, get ready to come ou| here 
as quick as you can. I am going to write to father, 
and tell him to catch you by the back of the neck 
and put you down in the hold of one of Mr. Oly- 
phant's ships, if you ever talk of going to any other 
part of the world. I'll take charge of you out here. 

Seriously, though, I want you and to come 

out to China; and if either of you do not come, I 
shall expect a very satisfactory and lengthened com- 
munication from you, showing good reasons for not 
doing it. I speak of you two in particular, because 
I think you as well qualified as any of the mission- 
ary students I know in the Seminary, for this field. 
The second command is, to pay considerable atten- 
tion to the Roman Catholic controversy; you may 
find need for it here. Thirdly, in regard to wives ; 
if you can get good ones, get them by all means; 
but I beg you not to delay coming for want of them. 
Shall the heathen perish, and your period of active 
labour, short at best, be rendered still shorter, 
because you cannot come alone to labour, where 



164 MEMOIR 'OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

merchants spend their ten, twenty, and thirty years 
in celibacy, for the sake of gain? . . . Spend your 

vacations in looking for wives, (Dr. 's advice 

to the contrary, notwithstanding,) but do not keep 
the ship in waiting. I do not know how I shall 
get along without one. There is at present no pros- 
pect of my getting one, but I am not sorry that I 
took the course I did in this matter. My opinions 
may change hereafter; when they do, perhaps I'll 
tell you. 

I could write much more — indeed, I feel loath to 
stop, but I must write another letter or two to-night, 
as the vessel goes soon. Dear brother, how often 
I think of you, and long to see you ! The memory 
of joys that are past is sweet to my soul. 

That the richest of heavens blessings may ever 
rest upon you is the prayer of 

Your brother in Christ, 



« 



W. M. Loavrie. 



CHAPTER IV. 

1843. 



Residence in Macao — Voyage up the Coast — Description of Amoy and 
Chang Chow — Return to Macao. 

In the early part of the year, Mr. McBryde and 
his wife were obliged to leave China on account of 
the failure of his health; and in the summer, Dr. 
Hepburn and his family arrived at Macao, from Sin- 

fapore. Mr. Lowrie spent his time chiefly at 
lacao, engaged in the study of the Chinese lan- 
guage, and preaching on the Sabbath to the Ame- 
rican and European residents of that place. In 
August he commenced a voyage to the north, with 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 165 

the intention of visiting all the newly-opened cities, 
to make inquiries as to their relative advantages for 
missionary labour. His description of Amoy and 
Chang Chow, will be found in the following jour- 
nals. Proceeding from Amoy to the north, owing 
to contrary winds, the voyage was slow, and they 
were several times driven to seek for shelter on the 
coast, by stress of weather. After almost reaching 
Chusan, the vessel was driven back by the north- 
east monsoon, and the voyage was then relin- 
quished. 

In the meantime the Executive Committee had 
decided to occupy three stations in China, — one in 
the Canton province, one at Amoy, and the other 
at Ningpo or Shanghai, as might be found most 
eligible. Dr. Hepburn was assigned to Amoy, and 
after being once driven back by a severe gale, he 
reached his field of labour in October. 

During his residence at Macao, the correspon- 
dence of Mr. Lowrie with the Executive Committee 
at home was very full, and contained much infor- 
mation of great service to them in deciding on the 
various questions relating to the missionary work 
in this great field of labour. Active preparations 
were made by them during this year to send out 
a large missionary force, which will be noticed in 
the proper place. 

At the close of this chapter will be found a pro- 
clamation of Sir Henry Pottinger, "Her Britannic 
Majesty's plenipotentiary, &c. &c," censuring the 
visit of Messrs. Abeel and Lowrie, to the city of 
Chang Chow. This proclamation, and the letter to 
the Chinese authorities, are extraordinary papers, 
in more respects than one. They were uncalled 
for,- — no complaint had been made, and Sir Henry 
himself became the informer. They were insulting 
and arrogant, for he censures American citizens, 
who were in no respect amenable to him, or subject 
to his jurisdiction. They were based on a false 
assumption, for the supplementary treaty had not 



166 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

then been published, and no law or regulation had 
been infringed. The inference that they passed 
themselves for Englishmen was equally gratuitous, 
and was contradicted in the very account that drew 
forth his impotent rebuke. There is something 
ludicrous, moreover, in the charge that two unarmed 
and peaceable men had forced their way among fifty 
thousand men, and there bearded their highest 
officers. Mr. Abeel was absent, and the duty 
devolved on his associate in the alleged trespass, to 
assert their rights as American citizens, and to de- 
cline the jurisdiction so arrogantly assumed. Had 
he used much stronger language, few of his coun- 
trymen would have been displeased. 



Macao, February 24th, 1843. 

My Dear Mother — . ... I have just heard that 
Mr. Canfield [of the African mission,] is dead. This 
was unexpected and most distressing news, though 
I never thought that either he or Mr. Alward would 
endure that climate as well as I probably would 
have done. If the hand of God's providence had 
not so remarkably brought me here in spite of my- 
self; and preserved me through clangers, when time 
and again it seemed as though I should be over- 
whelmed in the waves, I should almost wish that I 
had gone to Africa. The curse seems still to rest 
on Africa. Ethiopia stretches out her hand, but 
her teachers are removed far off. She still sits in 
darkness. Oh that light may speedily arise upon 
her ! At times I can hardly help wishing myself 
there, if it were only to escape the drudgery of this 
terrible language. Yet I do not see much reason 
for discouragement so far; counting up the other 
day, I found myself master of more than six hundred 
characters, which, for only three months of uninter- 
rupted attention, is pretty good progress; better 



MEMOIR Or WALTER M. LOWRIE. 167 

than I expected. By the time the Chinese tailor 
"rubs a crowbar down to a needle," I hope to un- 
derstand the language pretty well. But when will 
that be? 

February 25th. Saturday night! How many, 
many thoughts of former days and former joys 
crowd around me, as I lay by my books and papers, 
to prepare for the coming Sabbath ! How the time 
rolls on ! It seems but a day since the ship left the 
wharf, in my own native land ; yet more than a year 
has flown away, and I have passed through scenes 
that make me feel as if many years had been 
crowded into one. I have seen joy and sorrow since 
that time. I have felt my heart uplifted as on 
eagles' wings, and again it has sunk to the earth. 
I have looked upon the ocean when calm as a sleep- 
ing infant's slumbers. I have laid my hand upon 
its foam-crested waves, and felt that a half-inch 
plank and a slender cord alone preserved me from 
going down like lead in the mighty waters. I have 
seen plan after plan fail, and hope after hope disap- 
pointed. I have stood a solitary stranger amidst 
thousands who spoke a different language, without 
being able to utter a word that they could under- 
stand. Again and again have I been taught to say, 
"I am a stranger in the earth." Yet, withal, light 
has arisen to me in darkness, joy has come to me in 
sorrow, and hope has sprung up after disappoint- 
ments; for "tribulation worketh patience, and pa- 
tience experience, and experience hope, and hope 
maketh not ashamed." The love of God is shed 
abroad upon me, by the Holy Ghost, and the grace 
of Christ is sufficient for me. Would I go back ? 
no ! Do I regret that I came ? no ! Lonely I am 
at times ; sorrowful often ; perplexed, but not in 
despair; cast down, but not destroyed. The past 
is gone, but its pleasant remembrances and painful 
lessons remain; and deeply as some of them have 
been felt, already I can say, 



168 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

" The sunshine to the flower may give 

The tints that charm the sight, 
But scentless would that flow'ret live 

If skies were always bright. 
Dark clouds and showers its scent bestow, 
And purest joy is born of woe." 

The future is still future, long or short, happy or 
mournful, " all to me unknown ;" but I know what 
is far better, " The Lord reigneth, let the earth re- 
joice." .... 

Yours affectionately, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



Macao, May 14th, 1843. 

My Dear Mother — ... It is Sabbath night, and 
though I do not often write letters on this day, yet 
occasionally I feel it a privilege to spend a part of 
this day in epistolary correspondence of a particular 
kind. I do not do it for the sake of saving time, 
but on the same principle that would induce me, if 
in America, to diversify the exercises of the day 
by Christian conversation with those around me. 
Before breakfast this morning, a Chinaman came to 
my door with a couple of letters, sent to me from 
Hong Kong. They were from father, dated Aug. 
30th and December 13th, 1842, both overland, but 
delayed a good deal in arriving. After breakfast, I 
spent some time in preparing for preaching. I 
preach now every Sabbath in the chapel here, being 
the only clergyman in Macao except Mr. McBryde, 
who is not able to preach. Just as I was about to 
go to the chapel, a bundle of letters and papers from 
the "Paul Jones," came in. I had a week ago 
received half a dozen letters, and supposed there 
were no more; these had gone to Canton by mis- 
take, and now were returned. It was quite a temp- 
tation, but I left them unopened till I returned from 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 169 

church, and then found one from brother John, one 
from father, and one from yourself, dated Decem- 
ber 28th and 30th. Dear mother, I cannot express 
my thanks to you sufficiently for that letter. You 
seemed to fear that it would afford me little gratifi- 
cation, but it has been the most interesting letter I 
have yet received from you. I like "news" very 
well, but I like kind words and warm expressions 
of affection a great deal better, when I know that 
they come unstudied from the heart. I cannot 
describe to you how much I value such a sentence 
as "It is past nine o'clock, and all are waiting for 
me for prayers, where we always remember 'him in 
a foreign land.' ' It brought the warm tears to my 
eyes, (1 can hardly see now,) pictured before me — 
oh, how distinctly ! the scenes of other days, when 
I too knelt with you, and when my voice was 
heard among you. I could see again the quiet room 
with its cheerful fire, and the table with its well- 
remembered cover and lamp, and the family Bible 
with its broken binding, and each familiar face, aye, 
and the accustomed seat in which each one sat. I 
could hear the voice that read ; I almost fancied I 
could join in the familiar tune that was sung — 
and so I can, though separated from you by half 
the circumference of the world. The praises we 
sing, though sung on opposite sides of the globe, 
ascend to the same gracious God, and the prayers 
we offer reach the same mercy-seat, and the same 
grace that sustains you is sufficient, more than 
sufficient, for me. Tell Mrs. C, if you see her, that 
it has greatly cheered me to hear that her prayers 
have been offered for me, for I have learned to 
place a high value on the prayers of others, 
however unknown they may be to the world. 
How do we know but that in the world to come, we 
shall find much of our usefulness attributable to the 
prayers of those who remembered us, when we knew 
not that they ever thought of us ? 

"Little Sam is gone, and you are gone, and soon 
15 



170 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

it will be said, they are all gone ;" and if soon, why 
regret that one has finished his journey a few hours 
sooner than the rest, and another gone by a 
different route ? Are we not strangers here, and do 
not strangers sojourn but a short time in the land 
of their pilgrimage, and are not pleasant companions 
often obliged in their voyages to pursue different 
roads ? When the journey is over, we will recount 
our toils, and how we have been led by ways we 
knew not. Oh, how true is that ! I have been led 
like a blind man, by a way I knew not, but already, 
if I am not mistaken, I see it was the best way. 

My journal has afforded you pleasure, more than 
I thought it would ; but in heaven we shall need no 
journals, and shall then rightly estimate the impor- 
tance of every step we took. We shall then see 
through what dangers we have passed, when we 
least suspected they were so near; we shall see 
how an angel was sent in this place to sustain us, 
and in that an evil spirit was driven away. We 
shall see how influences that we did not dream of 
were directing our course, and as we contemplate 
the wonderful network of our history, we shall more 
and more admire the wisdom and goodness of Him 
by whom our bodies were so "curiously wrought," 
and our actions so carefully ordered. We shall be 
at home then, and shall "go no more out." 

How pleasant is the Sabbath ! It comes to me 
in this heathen land, to tell me that even here God 
is gracious; but there, where one unending Sabbath 
prevails, there shall be no painful sights of unhal- 
lowed desecration, no strivings with inbred sin, no 
weariness ; we shall go no more out, nor wish to go, 
for there is fulness of joy in the presence of God, 
and at his right hand are pleasures for evermore. I 
sometimes feel as if I did not want to live any 
longer; surely "I would not live always;" but 
when I look round and see these poor heathen, I 
think that perhaps I may do something. 1 am 
willing to stay, and when 1 think of Him who hath 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 171 

done so much, for me, I am dumb. Here am I, 
Lord; do with me as thou wilt. 
But I must close for the present. 

Affectionately yours, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



Macao, May 17th, 1843. 

Mr. John Lloyd — My Dear John : — Your long, 
long expected letter reached me eight or nine days 
ago. I was very glad indeed to hear from you, for 
I had not expected to be sixteen months without a 
letter from my old crony. But no matter, I'll pay 
you for it when you come out here. I shall expect 
to see you in China before the end of next year, 
without fail. The various items of your letter were 
very satisfactory to me, as they recalled many old 
associations. I proceed to answer some inquiries 
you have made. ... As to the Chinese climate, I 
have not as yet sufficient experience to speak fully 
about it. I have been nearly a year here, and 
during that time have not had one day's sickness, 
and have taken only one dose of medicine. I think 
it probable, however, that new comers will be liable 
to fever and ague in most of the new ports, until they 
become acclimated. The heat of summer is great; 
the thermometer now ranges above 80° ; but it is 
not as bad as that of India, and we have cool and 
bracing winters. There is not commonly any frost 
or snow in this latitude, or at Amoy, but ice and 
snow are both found at Chusan, Mngpo, and Shang- 
hae, where I think we shall have our principal 
stations. 

As to the language, I suppose it pretty certain 
that the Chinese is the hardest language in the 
world, except the Japanese; which is harder, 
because one must learn Chinese in order to learn 
Japanese. But then a good many considerations 



172 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE, 

remove the terror that some of the Singapore 
missionaries were so anxious to excite on this sub- 
ject. 1. The language has been learned, and 
spoken fluently and intelligibly, though not of 
course perfectly, by a number of persons within the 
last forty years ; and I have yet to learn that any 
one of those persons possessed any remarkable 
talent for learning languages. My impression is, 
that not one of them possessed such a talent to any 
great degree. 2. The facilities for learning the lan- 
guage, in the way of elementary books and free 
access to the people, are vastly better than they 
were twenty years ago; and every year they are 
getting better. 3. The dialects spoken in the north, 
are said to be easier, decidedly, than those spoken 
in Canton and Fokeen provinces; and it has been 
with the dialects of the two latter, that foreigners 
have been most conversant. Several of those who 
have learned Chinese, were over thirty years of age 
before they commenced it; two, I believe, were over 
forty; yet they are making progress. I have not 
made any "considerable attainments" yet. Owing 
to my various wanderings, of which you have heard 
somewhat, it was six months after I got here, 
before I began to study regularly. I have now 
been studying regularly for about six months. I 
can read easy sentences ; can talk a very little with 
my teacher; and I look forward with hope to the 
future. Yesterday I told my teacher that the Chi- 
nese was a hard language to learn, and I feared it 
would take me four or five years to talk it well. 
He said, no, it was not hard ; and that in one year 
I should be able to converse satisfactorily. I told 
him he was flattering me; but he said, "No, I am 
a very old man, why should I flatter you V So I 
said no more. I only believe the half of what he 
says ; but even that is better than I expected. At 
first the study was prodigiously dry — worse than 
anything I ever undertook ; but now I begin to feel 
a good deal of interest in it. Come out and study 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 173 

with me, and I can give you a good deal of assist- 
ance. I am obliged to study with almost no assist- 
ance from others, as the Pekin dialect, to which 
my attention is now directed, is not attended to by 
any of the missionaries whom I have access to. 
With your talents, I know you need not be afraid 
to commence the language. Tell Hugh Brown I 
expect him to come here also; and I wish you 
would turn the attention of Dr. Culbertson to this 
field. A person, however, who does not make 
pretty reasonable progress in Latin, Greek, and 
Hebrew, had better not come to China for the pre- 
sent. The case may be different a few years hence, 
when a greater variety of missionary labour can be 
employed than is at present practicable. 

1 am serious when I say that I wish you and 
Brown and Culbertson to regard this letter as a 
direct call to each of you to take China into careful 
consideration before you conclude to go elsewhere; 
and I trust you will be well satisfied that it is your 
duty to do so, if you decline coming here. I would 
not speak so decidedly if I did not think I had 
grounds for my opinion; but knowing you three, 
and this field as well as I do, I think it has very 
strong claims upon you. 

I recommend you to learn the radicals immediately, 
so as to be able to write the whole of them off, and 
give the name and meaning of each, without once 
looking on the book. You will find it of incalcu- 
lable advantage. I speak from experience. I also 
advise that by all means you learn to speak in the 
way that recommends, i. e., by using the abdo- 
minal and intercostal muscles. I am convinced that 
if you do so, it will facilitate your progress in the 
most difficult part of the spoken language, the tones. 
The reason why we find it so hard to use the Chi- 
nese tones easily, is because of our habit of using 
the lungs instead of the abdominal and intercostal 
muscles. I wish I had known this in America. 
The time you spend in learning this will be by no 

15* 



174 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

means lost, while, if you neglect it, I fear you will 
always regret it. 

But it is past ten o'clock, and I must close for 
the night. Would that I could see you. Pray for 
me ; but I know you do so, and I thank you for it. 
It does not surprise me to hear that I have fallen 
into the general mass, and only come in under the 
general prayer of " Lord, bless the missionary." It 
was to be expected. But there are a few who, I 
trust, will not so soon forget me. The Lord ever 
be with you, and keep you, is the prayer of your 
friend and brother in Christ, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



Macao, July 20th, 1843. 

My Dear Father — .... I find myself obliged 
to confess that the warm weather has its effects 
upon me. For a month after it commenced I felt 
as strong and as much disposed to study as ever; 
but, for the last two weeks, I do not feel able to sit 
at my books nearly so constantly as before, nor to 
take such long walks as usual. I have lost a good 
deal of my appetite, and they all tell me I look pale, 
and thinner than usual. Such is the worst side of the 
picture ; on the other hand, I am not sick, not low 
spirited, suffer no manner of pain, can read and 
write, and laugh and talk as usual, and do anything 
that does not require long and close mental effort. 
I sleep soundly, and the time passes away rapidly. 
I don't expect to do much studying for a couple of 
months to come. I had hoped to be on my way to 
visit Amoy and Chusan ere this, but have not yet 
found a suitable vessel, nor do I know of any. If 
one does not offer soon, I shall be obliged to post- 
pone it till some time in September or October. . . . 

Your journal of a day interested me very much. 
I would give you something of the kind in return. 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 175 

but am really so ashamed of each clay's work for 
the present week, that I would rather not. I man- 
age to keep up what little I know of Chinese, and 
to add a little to my stock ; to read some ; and write 
some; to take a walk every day; and to preach 
once a week to the English and American residents. 
As I have not yet brought myself to read other 
men's sermons, I have commonly to prepare one 
every week. This takes a good deal of time and 
thought, and I sometimes feel as if I ought not to 
do it, as the strength thus employed could be used 
in fitting myself for my missionary life. Yet as 
there are some who seem to feel an interest in attend- 
ing, and as I am the only minister here, it does 
not seem right to neglect them altogether. I should 
like to be among the Chinese. 

Your suggestions about a Chinese dictionary are 
important, but I hardly know what to say in regard 
to them ; it will be time enough for me to think of 
such a thing, when I can call myself a Chinese 
scholar. I make no pretensions to that name now, 
nor can I even guess when I shall deserve it; and 
if I ever do deserve it, I may prefer some other 
kind of labour, besides dry dictionary-making. Still, 
I consider it a duty to keep something of the kind 
in view. You of course will not mention that I do 
so, as I do not wish it to be known. The thought 
that I may perhaps be of some assistance in that 
way, is one thing which, with others, induces me to 
study the Mandarin, and to prefer one of the north- 
ern ports. 

I cannot tell you, my dear father, how much I 
value your letters. The spirit of kindness and affec- 
tion they breathe, is to me most truly refreshing 
and delightful, and I sometimes almost feel as if it 
was worth while to be separated from, you in order 
to enjoy them. But I do not altogether give up the 
hope of seeing you again, though I have little ex- 
pectation of seeing you in the United States. When 
1 get into my own house at Ningpo, or some other 



176 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

regular Chinese place, I mean to send yon and 
mother a special invitation to come and see me. I 
rather think, too, that you will find it hard to refuse 
my invitation. With many affectionate thoughts of 
you, and of all the members of our beloved family, 
I remain as ever, 

Your affectionate son, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



JOURNAL TO AMOY AND CHUSAN. 

August 31st. Got under way from Hong Kong 
about nine o'clock, a. m., but having light and 
unfavourable winds made very slow progress. 
Obliged to come to anchor at night opposite Chek 
Chu, on the southern side of the island. 

During the voyage from Hong Kong to Amoy 
we passed in sight of three of the great opium de- 
pots along the coast. These three were Tong-san, 
How-tow-san, and Namoa. At these three places, 
the opium dealers in Canton and Macao, have ships 
constantly stationed to keep supplies of opium, and 
to them the smaller vessels, or " opium clippers," as 
they are called, resort for cargoes, which they carry 
to different parts of the coast and dispose of always 
for silver. The number of vessels employed in this 
traffic is very great. A single mercantile house 
in Canton and Macao, employs about fifty vessels, 
ships, barks, brigs, and schooners, while another 
house has thirty or more.* These vessels carry 

* The amount of capital embarked in the opium trade is enormous, 
as may be judged of from the number of vessels employed. The 
smallest of these vessels probably costs the owners upwards of $5,000 

annually. A schooner like the or costs from 800 to 1200 

dollars a month, merely for her sailing, i. e. wages, wear and tear; so 
that the annual expense of one of the least of these messengers of evil, 
is greater than the whole expenses of our mission in any year since its 
commencement ; while the brigs, barks, and ships cost still more. This 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 177 

almost nothing but opium, and receive almost 
nothing in return but silver. The laws of the Chi- 
nese against the introduction of opium are very 
severe, but at present they are a mere dead letter ; 
the opium smugglers laugh at them, and carry 
their vile drug recklessly to all parts of the coast, 
where it is purchased by the Chinese, and carried 
into different parts of the country. The Chinese 
officers themselves, instead of striving to prevent 
its introduction, connive at it, being frequently 
bribed for that purpose by the smugglers. One of 
the very greatest difficulties in the way of Christian 
missions in China, arises from the prevalence of the 
use of opium • and it is to be feared that it will long 
continue in the way. When a man acquires a 
taste for opium, there is nothing he will not do 
to gratify it; and its use is most deleterious. It 
injures his bodily health, it stupefies his mental 
powers, and it deadens his moral feelings, and when 
the habit of using it is once confirmed, it is almost 
impossible to abandon it. The fondness for opium 
is one of the strong chains in which Satan has 
bound this great people, and it is a heart-sickening 
reflection, that this evil luxury is supplied to them 
by the merchants of the two nations which profess 
to be actuated by the purest Christianity. It is 
almost impossible to find a vessel going up the 
coast which does not carry it. 

September 5th. Reached Amoy, and was re- 
ceived with a hearty welcome by the Rev. Mr. 
Abeel and Dr. Cumming. They were the only 
missionaries then residing at Amoy, or rather at 
Kulangsu, which is a beautiful little island not 
more than one-fourth of a mile from Amoy. 

In the evening after reaching Kulangsu, Dr. 
Cumming and myself went over to Amoy, to see 
the place. We crossed from Kulangsu to Amoy 

is merely for wages of the men and officers, and the wear and tear of 
the vessel, and is exclusive of all the money expended in purchasing tho 
opium, storing it, and packing and repacking. 



178 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

for ten cash a-piece, (it takes eleven or twelve 
cash to make a cent.) 

"Multitudes, multitudes," was the impression 
that forced itself upon me in walking through the 
crowded streets, and looking out over the close- 
built environs of this great city. The suburbs are 
much larger than the city itself, and most of the 
merchants' shops are there. Each street, both 
within the city and in the suburbs, is closed at each 
end by gates every night; all are narrow, and all 
are dirty. It is hardly possible for foreigners to 
live in the close filthy quarters generally occupied 
by the Chinese. We can live in houses like theirs 
with but little difficulty, but their position is gene- 
rally low and damp, and their being so dirty and so 
closely crowded together, combines to render them 
unhealthy. 

Nine opium ships were anchored close alongside 
of Amoy, and also two vessels that had no opium 
on board. I was told, on good authority, that 
every man in Amoy who could afford to buy opium 
was in the habit of smoking it. The Chinese offi- 
cers make no effort whatever to prevent its intro- 
duction, and I saw opium pipes openly exposed for 
sale in the streets. A few years ago it would have 
been almost as much as a Chinaman's life was 
worth, to have been detected in the sale of any- 
thing used in consuming the prohibited article. 

Infanticide is very common in this province; very 
many inquiries have been made by the missionaries, 
and all the testimony goes to prove that it prevails 
to a fearful extent. It is not saying too much to 
affirm, that in the districts around Amoy, one-fifth, 
or one-sixth of the children perish by the hands, or 
with the consent of their parents. One poor man 
said to Mr. Abeel with an air of the greatest sim- 
plicity and sincerity, " Teacher, before you came, I 
killed five of my children ; I would not do it now, 
for you have showed me that it is wrong, but before 
you came I did not know that — who was there to 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 179 

tell me V Alas ! who was there to tell him ? The 
opium smugglers are dealing their poison all around, 
but very rarely does a missionary appear amongst 
them, and those who do come, have difficulties to 
contend with as they sit upon the damp tiled floors 
of the native houses, and breathe the unwholesome 
air of the swampy fields, such as rarely enter into 
the minds of those who dwell in their ceiled houses, 
and talk in their own native language. 

I visited the grave of Mrs. Boone. It is in a 
beautiful quiet garden, a little tree stands at the 
foot, and an immense banian spreads its shade over 
the whole. She died August 30, 1842. It was 
a time of sadness and sorrow when that first mem- 
ber of the missionary band here fell; but I could 
not regard her lonely grave in any other light than 
as a pledge that the kingdom shall yet be the Lord's. 
For not alone shall that Christian wife and mother 
sleep here; others of the missionary circle shall 
also toil, and lie down here, and around them shall 
sleep those saved by their means, and sooner or 
later we shall look upon graves, even in this heathen 
land, with the same feelings of calm and joyful 
hope with which we behold them in Christian lands. 
May the Lord hasten that time ! for it is a sorrowful 
thought as we look upon the countless graves that 
throng every hill-side around us, "Not one of all 
these myriads ever heard the name of Christ — 
where now are their souls ?" It was a pleasant thing 
in my native land to go to the grave-yard on Satur- 
day evenings, or the Sabbath morning, and sit 
upon the tombs, and think of heaven; but I cannot 
do that in China. 

We left Amoy on Thursday, September 7. I 
could scarcely take my eyes away from the first of 
the gently rising hills that was seen. It was so 
different from all that I had witnessed for nearly 
twenty months, and reminded me so strongly of 
objects seen in my own native land, that it required 
but little stretch of fancy to cover the scene with 



180 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

the peaceful homes, and smiling villages, and solemn 
churches of America. But, alas, how different the 
reality ! Multitudes, multitudes of immortal beings, 
but all ignorant of the truth ! An opium clipper 
followed us out of Amoy, and being a faster sailer 
than we, soon passed us on her way to Chimmoo 
Bay, another great opium depot. It reminded me 
sadly of the truth that the men of this world are 
wiser in their generation than the children of light. 
But I found consolation where I had not looked for 
it. We were sailing on the wide sea. The whole 
expanse of the Pacific Ocean, with its unfathomed 
depths and uncounted waves, was rolling on our 
right, and its waters washed the shores of the most 
populous empire on the earth. Behold! "The earth 
shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the 
Lord as the zvaters cover the seas" Hab. ii. 14. What 
though men, for the sake of gain, follow practices 
that injure their fellow-men, and impede the progress 
of the Gospel, it shall not always be so; for thus 
saith the Lord, " They shall not hurt nor destroy 
in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full 
of the laiowiedge of the Lord, as the waters cover 
the sea," Isaiah ix. 11. With such an assurance 
from such a source, what more do we want to con- 
firm our faith and encourage our hope ? 

Friday, September 15. When within one hun- 
dred and twenty miles of Chusan the monsoon 
changed, and after beating about for several days, 
and making no progress, we anchored at the Island 
of San-pan-shan, in order to replenish our water- 
casks, and wait, if perhaps the weather might become 
more moderate. The island of San-pan-shan is in 
north lat. 28 deg. 5 min., and east long. 122 deg. 

Just above our landing place, and near the prin- 
cipal collection of huts, was an idol temple, dedi- 
cated to Ma-tsoo-po, a favourite Chinese goddess. 
There was nothing remarkable about it, except its 
filthiness, and two figures about two-thirds the size 
of men ; standing on a block of wood near the door. 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 181 

They were painted black, with red and glaring eyes, 
and horribly-distorted mouths, all begrimed with 
smoke of incense-sticks, and dirt; they were fit 
representations of the horrid character of him whom 
this deluded people worship. There were several 
brazen incense-stands on the altar, one of which I 
wished to take away, but the people would not 
allow of it. "No, it was Ma-tsoo-po's." I would 
give a good deal to be able to transport the two 
black images as they are, to the Mission House in 
New York. 

Wednesday, September 27th. Finding that our 
vessel was in no condition to beat against the mon- 
soon, and that our prospect of reaching Chusan in 
her was very poor, we reluctantly turned about, 
and arrived at Amoy yesterday. It is a mysterious 
dispensation of providence, but doubtless He who 
holds the winds in his fist has wise ends in view, 
in disappointing my hopes : "What I do thou know- 
est not now, but thou shaft know hereafter." 

Took a boat and went to see a Budhist temple 
about two or three miles south-east of Amoy. It 
stands at the foot of the high ridge of hills running 
from the city of Amoy into the interior of Amoy 
island, and is about half a mile from the shores of 
the bay. In front of the temple is an enclosure 
containing four open buildings, in each of which are 
two gigantic stone tortoises six feet long and four 
feet broad. Each tortoise supports a white stone 
tablet, ten feet high and four feet broad, and 
covered one with Chinese and the other with Tar- 
tar inscriptions; the Chinese characters are cer- 
tainly very well adapted for inscriptions, and I 
have rarely seen any specimens of cutting in stone 
so beautifully executed as these are. The purport 
of the inscriptions seemed to be maxims and moral 
sentences : but as to their particular meaning, I for- 
bear to interpret it. Directly behind these tablets 
was the entrance of the temple, with all its array of 
dingy paintings, grotesque carving and queer dra- 
1G 



182 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

gons above the door. On entering, the first object 
seen >vas a gilt statue of Budh, of gigantic size, 
with a green veil over the window of ihe inclosure 
where he was seated. Behind him was another 
gigantic image, and on either side were two other 
giants; on one side a male and a female with a 
guitar in her hand, and on the other side a female, 
and a black and horrid-looking male attendant. 
Each statue is said to be eighteen feet high, and of 
one solid stone. Here we were met by two of the 
priests, pale in countenance, dressed in white, and 
of rather pleasing manners. Only one of them 
said anything, but he was quite talkative. They 
gave us tea without sugar or milk, and promised 
to call at the mission house in Amoy, after which 
we left them. 

Near this temple, I saw what is rather uncommon 
in China, regularly-inclosed graveyards. There 
were a great many uninclosed tombs all around, but 
here were three graveyards ; each of them had a 
large tomb in the centre, and a great many of com- 
mon appearance regularly arranged around, com- 
pletely filling up the inclosed spaces. The burying- 
grounds were all small, but extremely full. The 
largest was only one hundred feet square, and yet 
it had three hundred and fifty graves in it, all of 
which seemed to be of about the same age. It is 
not known to foreigners, and not to any Chinese of 
whom we made inquiries, who are buried there. 
The inscriptions at the entrance of each would per- 
haps tell, but it requires time and patience to copy 
and translate them. Just within the entrance of 
each was a stone with the inscription full shin, happy- 
spirits ! Alas ! are they happy ? None were chil- 
dren's graves. 

October 1, Sabbath. In the morning attended 
Mr. Abeel's Chinese service; about twenty were 
present, which is a smaller number than usual. 
Among them was a Budhist priest, and several very 
respectably-dressed gentlemen. Most of them at- 



MEMOIR OF WALTER, M. LOWRIE. 183 

tended well. In the evening preached to the sol- 
diers ; owing to the sickness prevailing at present, 
the congregation was small ; only about seventy 
were present, yet it was the largest number I have 
preached to at one time since leaving New York. 

October 2, Monday. Monthly Concert to-night. 
I conducted the services and made the first prayer, 
then read Psalm Ixviii, and made some remarks on 
the frequency with which the promises of the con- 
version of the world are followed by glorious ascrip- 
tions of praise to God, as shown : — Ps. Ixviii. 31, 
32, Is. xliv. 23, and xlix. 12, 13. Mr. Roberts 
then prayed, and made some remarks on the neces- 
sity of faith in Christ, and of entire dependence on 
his grace, rather than trusting in feelings and frames 
of mind. We sang a hymn, and Mr. Abeel prayed. 
It was a pleasant time. 



JOURNAL TO CPIANG-CHOW. 

October 3. Mr. Abeel and I have been talking 
for some days of making an excursion into the in- 
terior, some thirty or forty miles, and to-day we 
went off to engage a boat. There are so many 
rivers and streams along the coast of China, and the 
Chinese so commonly live near the water, that al- 
most all travelling is in boats. Hence the expres- 
sion, Haou fung shwuy, literally meaning a fair 
wind and tide, is equivalent to saying, " Good luck 
go with you," or " May you have a prosperous time." 
After a deal of chaffering and bargaining, and being 
almost deafened by the noisy Chinese we had to 
talk with, (when talking earnestly, the common 
people actually shout their words,) we arranged 
with an old man to be taken to Chang-Chow, a city 
of the second order, and said to be twice as large 
as Amoy, for three dollars and a half. One of our 
Chinese friends promises to accompany us. 

On the 4th about one o'clock, p. m., we arrived at 
the city. It was soon evident that we were some- 



184 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

thing "uncommon." Numbers of people came in 
with us, and as we passed through the streets and 
were discovered by those ahead of us, the wonder 
and the crowd increased. Our complexions and 
dress, our stature, and my spectacles, at once drew 
the attention of everybody. The shopkeeper turned 
away from his customer, the carpenter dropped his 
plane, and the shoemaker his last, the tailor his 
needle, and the apothecary his pill-box, and even 
the beggar forgot his vocation; the women peeped 
out from the doors, and the children ran on before 
and stopped to have a good look at us ; old and 
young, high and low, were filled with one common 
feeling of surprise, and gazed at us as if we had 
fallen from the clouds. 

Thursday, Oct. 5. The morning being bright and 
pleasant, we started for a walk before breakfast, 
and the lower bridge being hard-by the place where 
our boat was anchored, we went there first. It is 
built on twenty-five piles of stone about thirty feet 
apart, and perhaps twenty feet in height, above the 
surface of the water. Large round beams are laid 
from pile to pile, and smaller ones across in the 
simplest and rudest manner : these are then covered 
with earth, and the upper part is paved with bricks 
or stone. One would suppose that the work had 
been assigned to a number of different persons, and 
that each had executed his part in such manner as 
best suited his own fancy, there being no regularity 
in the paving; bricks and stone were intermingled 
in the most confused manner, and the railing was 
sometimes of wood, and sometimes of stone. The 
length of some of the stones used in paving the 
bridge was very remarkable; some of them were 
eight, others eleven, others fourteen, and three of 
them eighteen paces each, in length, so that these 
last must have been about forty-five feet long, and 
two or three broad. They were of unhewn granite, 
but from the constant crowd of passengers for a 
hundred years or more, were worn quite smooth. 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 185 

The bridge averages eight or ten feet in width, and 
about one-half its length on either side was occupied 
by shops in which various articles, principally eat- 
ables, were exposed for sale. I may remark here 
that the short account of this city contained in the 
work of Abbe Grosier, on China, which is compiled 
from the memoirs of the Jesuit missionaries, con- 
tains several mistakes. The work referred to 
speaks of but one bridge, whereas, there are two ; 
it gives that one bridge thirty-six arches, whereas, 
there are but twenty-five, and they are not, in any 
sense of the word, arches, being simply timbers laid 
from pier to pier. It also speaks of the " two ranges 
of shops furnished with the most precious things of 
China, and the rarest merchandises of foreign lands." 
If this account were true in the clays when the 
Jesuits went through the land with the utmost 
freedom, it is not so now, for the articles we saw in 
these shops were of the commonest and coarsest 
kind. It also says, that since "the tides reach 
regularly to Chang-Chow, this place has become the 
resort of a multitude of vessels, by means of which 
a commerce is held with Amoy, Pow-hou, and For- 
mosa, and from hence depart all the Chinese who 
go to traffic at the Philippine islands;" — all this is 
to be taken with large allowance. The tide does 
reach Chang-Chow, but even at high tide, only the 
smallest vessels can come up so far — and when the 
tide is out, a common whale-boat is in clanger of 
grounding. I take it for granted, therefore, that no 
vessels go from this city either to Formosa or the 
Philippine islands; and certainly, though there are 
a goodly number of small boats in the river, there 
are no vessels there fitted to encounter a sea-voyage. 
From Amoy vessels do go to all the parts mentioned 
above, and to many others, and the goods they 
bring back are conveyed in smaller vessels to the 
city of Chang-Chow; but the statements just re- 
ferred to (see Grosier 's "La Chine," vol. 1, p. 96) 
are not sanctioned by what we saw. If the accounts 



16* 



186 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

the Jesuits have given of other cities of the empire, 
are equally defective and erroneous, we have small 
reason to thank them for then contributions to our 
stock of knowledge of China. The reader of Abbe 
Grosier will not find one of the particulars of the 
following account in his work. 

There were many persons passing and repassing, 
as we crossed the bridge, and the various odours 
that filled the air were not the most agreeable. 
Having crossed the bridge, and passed through a 
village at the end of it, we went along the southern 
bank of the river to the second bridge, which is 
about a mile from the first, and similarly constructed. 
On coining to it, our guides pointed a little further, 
and told us there was a temple there worth seeing. 
We accordingly kept on, and were soon well repaid 
for our additional walk, by a sight of one of the 
oldest buildings I have ever seen. It was a temple 
said to have been built in the Suy dynasty, about 
twelve hundred years ago. The various gateways 
and small buildings usually found in front of Chi- 
nese temples, were decayed and in ruins. Two 
pools on either side of the main entrance, were 
covered with the broad-leaved water-lily. The main 
building, which is of wood, is very high, and every 
pillar, board, stone, and tile, bore the marks of ex- 
treme age. On going in, we were utterly astonished. 
Seven gigantic images, in sitting or standing pos- 
tures, gilded and painted, but faded and dusty, and 
tarnished with age, were arranged across the middle 
of the temple ; while on either side was a row of 
fifteen Chinese worthies, either sitting or standing, 
and as large as fife. Behind the seven first images 
were three others : the very smallest of the ten was 
at least eight feet in height, while the largest, if 
they had been standing, would have been fifteen or 
eighteen. An immense drum occupied one corner 
of the room, and a bell another. The roof was 
most curiously composed of carved wood, and 
inscriptions in various styles of Chinese writing 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 187 

were painted, and gilded, and carved on the pillars, 
walls, ceiling, and tablets of the temple. It had 
been repaired in Kang-he's time, though it was now 
in a sad state from age and neglect. It was sicken- 
ing to look on the gloomy monsters whom this 
people worship as their gods, and to witness the 
ingenuity and expense lavished on these dumb idols, 
and to think of the dreadful degradation of the 
people that can worship such works of their own 
hands. Yet it is also cheering to think that their 
superstitions are old, and many of them seem almost 
ready to vanish away. Not a great many new 
temples are built, and those already existing are 
often in very poor repair. The people appear to 
have little reverence for their idols, and their wor- 
ship consists of little else than a heartless round of 
unmeaning ceremonies. Oh, for that time when 
idols shall be utterly abolished ! 

From the main temple, we went to a small side 
building, which contained a single idol, standing, 
with one hand folded on the breast, and the other 
hanging open by the side. I got up on the pedes- 
tal, which was three feet high, and reaching with 
my umbrella, could barely touch the hand that was 
laid across the breast. The open hand w?s two 
feet long, and the whole image could have been 
little less than twenty feet high. It was cut out 
of one solid rock, which formerly occupied this 
spot; without removing it, they hewed out the 
image and erected the house over it. 

Breakfast being over, we entered the chairs pro- 
vided for us, and being escorted by the interpreter, 
and two or three of the officers, proceeded through 
the city. We were carried through several streets, 
some of which were narrow and offensively filthy, 
but many of them were wide, i. e. for a Chinese 
city, say eight, ten, and even twelve feet, and lined 
with pretty good-looking houses. 

We were carried to the north-west corner of the 
city, and presently found ourselves in an open space 



188 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

with rising ground be} r ond, and a very large temple 
directly in front. It was built in the Tang dynasty, 
from nine hundred to twelve hundred years ago, 
and bore the marks of age, though in much better 
repair than the one we had previously visited. The 
scene presented when the doors were thrown open 
and we entered, was quite unexpected. Eight 
gigantic figures, even larger than those we had pre- 
viously seen, were arranged across the temple. 
Some of them seemed almost to support its high 
roof on their heads : thirty-six Chinese sages occu- 
pied either side, in rows 01 eighteen each. The roof 
of the temple was constructed in the most elabo- 
rate manner, and was supported by several noble 
wooden pillars. The most curious things we saw, 
were a couple of large lockers or cupboards, closed 
and locked. They were about eight feet square 
and two feet deep, and their contents were unknown. 
The people all declared most seriously that the} 7 
had not been opened for years, and if they should 
be opened, death would surely come out in some 
terrible form, or some dreadful plague would visit 
the people. 

Behind the temple the ground rose steeply, and 
three of its summits were crowned with little open 
towers. We climbed up in the hot sun, expecting 
to obtain an extended prospect, but the scene that 
met our eyes greatly transcended our expectations. 
Fancy an amphitheatre thirty miles in length by 
twenty in breadth, hemmed in on all sides by steep, 
bare, pointed hills, a river running through the 
plain, an immense city at our feet, with fields of 
rice and suscar-cane, noble trees and numerous vil- 
lages stretching away in every direction. It was 
grand and beautiful above every conception I had 
ever formed of Chinese scenery. The eye wandered 
over that immense plain, and returned again and 
again to the contemplation of particular points, till 
we were almost wearied by the sight of so much 
magnificence: and when we came to particulars, 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 189 

the wonder was increased rather than diminished. 
Beneath ns lay the city. We could trace its walls 
in nearly every direction. It would have been 
nearly square, had not the southern wall curved 
outwards from following the course of the river. 
It was very closely built, as almost all Chinese 
cities are, and had a vast number of large trees in 
every part, within and around. On inquiring the 
number of inhabitants, our guide answered, that in 
the last dynasty it had numbered seven hundred 
thousand souls, and now there were more. He 
thought there were a million of people within the 
walls. This is probably a large estimate, though it 
is the one commonly given by the Chinese : — yet 
allowing only half their estimate, how large a num- 
ber is even that ! The villages around also attracted 
our attention, and I tried to count them, but after 
enumerating thirty-nine of large size, distinctly visi- 
ble, in less than half the field before us, I gave 
over the attempt. It is certainly not going too far 
to say, that in that plain, there are at least one 
hundred villages; some of them may be small, but 
many of them would number their hundreds and 
even thousands of inhabitants. Oh, what a field 
for missions is here, if the country were but open, 
and the churches ready to enter it ! How many, 
many souls there were beneath our eyes, all ignorant 
of the true God, and of the way of life ! The pros- 
pect before us was surprisingly beautiful, but alas, 
for those who dwell amidst those fair scenes, where 

" Every prospect pleases, and only man is vile !" 

Oh, how often does the thought come across the 
missionary's mind in China, "multitudes, multi- 
tudes !" but alas, they are scattered, as sheep having 
no shepherd. Oh, that Christians could but see 
them, and have compassion upon them! Then 
would they pray the Lord of the harvest to send 
foi Ji more labourers into his harvest, for the harvest 
truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few. This 



190 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWREE. 

country will yet be opened. The doors have already 
begun to unclose, and no human power is able to 
shut them again. What though they move but 
slowly, and grate harshly as they turn on their 
rusty hinges, they move none the less surely for all 
that ; and the field that is opened to us, by the first 
unclosing, is so vast that our numbers are quite 
insufficient to occupy it. What then will be the 
case when the whole country is thrown open? 
When we have properly occupied the five ports now 
open, and are ready to extend our efforts beyond, 
it will be time enough to wish for a larger field. 
Doubtless God will give us a larger field before we 
are ready to enter on it. 

After dinner we went up in a boat some distance 
above the city, and walked among the rice-grounds 
and sugar-canes. How much the latter reminded 
me of the luxuriant corn-fields of Maryland ! We 
saw several men watering the rice-grounds by means 
of the chain pump, which is worked by the foot, 
and is described m Davis's China, ch. 19. This 
may be the same contrivance that was used in 
Egypt, and is referred to in the Scriptures: a thou 
sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot 
as a garden of herbs;" Deut. xi. 10. The people 
gathered around us, and Mr. A. addressed them in 
two different places. Some of them attended care- 
fully, but most of them seemed more disposed to 
examine our dress than to listen to religious dis- 
course. 

Friday, October 6. Arrived at Cho-bey before 
daylight, and soon after sunrise went ashore to see 
the place. It is a walled town, but the part within 
the walls is by no means so extensive as that 
without. Here, as elsewhere, crowds followed us, 
noisier too, and ruder than those of Chang-Chow, 
though they offered us no manner of insult, and 
most readily allowed us to pass wherever we chose. 
We found it quite a large and populous place, 
stretching at least a mile along the shore, and I 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 191 

know not how far back from the river. It is a 
busy, bustling place of trade; the shops were 
crowded with goods, commonly of a very coarse 
quality, and the streets thronged with people. For 
dirt and filth, it excels every other place I have 
seen, and some of the streets were actually sicken- 
ing. Several persons who had been to Amoy, 
recognized Mr. A., and one of them, who had been 
a patient of Dr. Cumming's at Ku-lang-su, volun- 
teered to guide us through the streets, which are so 
narrow, from three to twelve feet wide, and so 
crooked, that we should have found it difficult to 
proceed alone. The number of fresh fish in the 
markets was really surprising. The river is here 
not one-fourth of a mile wide, and hardly six feet 
deep, and yet as far as we could learn, it supplies 
the whole of the teeming population of both its 
banks, including those of the cities of Chang-Chow, 
Cho-bey, and Haeteng. Here we saw immense 
numbers of fine large fish, fresh from the water, and 
excellent in flavour, as we proved by experiment. 
After walking till we were tired, we stopped in 
front of an idol temple, and Mr. A. addressed the 
crowd that gathered around us. They were quite 
attentive, and the questions asked by several of 
them, showed that they understood what was spo- 
ken to them. 

It was now noon, the sun was hot, we had been 
wearied at Cho-bey in the morning, besides being 
almost overpowered by the excitement of the two 
previous days, and the wind being ahead, it was 
important to secure the favourable tide, which was 
now making for Amoy. Accordingly we turned 
our faces homeward, and at sunset re-entered our 
houses in Ku-lang-su; glad and thankful for the 
wonderful things we had seen, the favours received, 
and the mercies enjoyed during our three days' ex- 
cursion. 

In looking back over this excursion, and over the 
whole of my voyage, there are several points that 



192 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

deserve to be prominently brought forward; and 
though my journal is already long, a few remarks 
on each will not be out of place. 

The attentive reader of this journal will have 
been struck with the frequent reference to the 
amazing populousness of the country ; but it is im- 
possible to convey any adequate idea of the real 
state of the case. If the cities of Boston, New 
York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore were situated in 
a valley forty miles long, and ten or fifteen broad, 
and the whole intervening country were so thickly 
covered with villages that a man should never be 
out of sight of one or more of them, still the popu- 
lation of that valley would not be as great as is the 
population of that part of China, of which the pre- 
ceding pages speak. At seven o'clock in the morn- 
ing, we were at Amoy ; by two o'clock p. m. we had 
passed Haeteng and Cho-bey, and were anchored 
at Chang-Chow. Here were four cities, any one of 
which would be a city of the first size in the United 
States, and around these four cities, there must be 
at least two hundred villages and towns ; and this 
is not all, for within thirty miles of Amoy, in 
another direction, is the city of Tung-an, said to be 
twice as large as Amoy, with, I know not how 
many towns and villages in its neighbourhood. 
The mind is overwhelmed to think of this immense 
population, numerous as the sand on the sea-shore, 
and all so closely crowded together, and so easily 
reached, by water communication, for in a boat you 
may go to any one of those places in less than a 
single day. If the country around each of the 
other ports is as populous, as we now know that 
around Amoy to be, and the probability, from all I 
can learn, is that it is quite as populous, then what 
fields are here for Christian effort ! I am astonished 
and confounded, and even, after what I have seen, 
can scarcely believe the half of what must be true 
respecting the multitudes of people who live in 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 193 

China, and the multitudes who are perfectly acces- 
sible to the efforts of the missionary. 

It has been strongly and repeatedly impressed 
upon my mind, from what I have lately seen, that 
to no country in the world will our Saviour's words, 
" to the poor the Gospel is preached," be found so 
applicable as to China. Many people look on China 
as it were some great mine of gold and jewels, 
where every man is clothed in silks and faring 
sumptuously every day; but nothing can be further 
from the true state of the case. There are many 
wealthy men in China, and wherever the missionary 
goes, he will meet them, and associate with them. 
But the great mass of the people are poor, in the 
strictest sense of the term. It cannot but be so, 
where a country is so crowded with inhabitants, 
that there is sometimes hardly room to bury their 
dead out of their sight, the great majority of the 
people must be poor. You see it here, in the coarse 
clothing they wear, the food they eat, the homes 
they inhabit, the furniture they use, and the wages 
they receive. You see it in the fact that their only 
coined money is so small that it requires twelve 
hundred to make a dollar, and happy is he who re- 
ceives two hundred of these for his day's labour. 
Let the missionary who comes to China, bear this 
in mind. The brightest talents are needed in 
preaching to the poor, but especially will he need 
the graces of humility and self-denial, of faith and 
of patience, in his intercourse with this people, and 
his efforts to instruct them. This is a point that 
admits of much enlargement, both in proving the 
poverty of the people, if that be necessary, and in 
speaking of the qualifications necessary to one who 
labours among them. But a word to the wise and 
the thoughtful, is sufficient. 

It is a sad and melancholy thing to be obliged to 

refer so often as I have done to the prevalence of 

the use of opium in China. The number of vessels 

employed, and the amount of capital embarked in 

17 



194 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

the opium trade, have been slightly referred to in 
the preceding pages. At some other time I may 
give fuller statements on this subject; but at present, 
all that need be added, is, that the half has not been 
told. The connivance of the Chinese officers at the 
traffic, and the eagerness of the Chinese people to 
procure the drug, have also been referred to. I 
have only further to say, that wherever I have been 
in China, I have seen it used. In all the opium 
depots along the coast, it is of course freely used. 
At Amoy, " every man who can afford to buy it, 
uses it." In the little island of San-pan-shan, the 
only question the people asked of the Christian 
missionary, was, whether he had opium to sell, and 
there he saw the floor of the idol temple covered 
with the half-stupefied smokers of opium. While 
at Chang-Chow, one of the officers came on board 
the boat where we lodged, and while he was on 
board, I perceived the peculiar smell of opium, and 
looking clown, saw two men smoking it in the hold 
beneath my feet. I have been made sick by the 
smell of it, in an opium house at Canton, and have 
held my breath as I passed the opium dens in 
Macao. I have walked on the steep hill-sides of 
Hong Kong, and there have seen common beggars, 
who dwelt "in cliffs of the valleys, in caves of the 
earth, and in rocks" — and who were too poor to buy 
an opium pipe, smoking opium out of a little 
earthen vessel in which they had drilled a hole, 
that it might serve as a substitute for a pipe ! And 
what hope can there be for such a people ? Men 
of the world, honourable and upright men too, will 
sell them opium for money. The Chinese will buy 
it, let the emperor thunder against it as long as he 
chooses, and the smoker will use it, though it 
weakens his body, impairs his mind, stupefies his 
conscience, and renders him miserable when not 
under its influence. There is no help for them but 
in God. The use of. opium in China will never be 
abolished, until a reformation, similar to the tern- 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 195 

perance reformation of America, commence among 
the people themselves. And that reformation I 
fear will not commence, and certainly will not be 
completed, till the religion of Christ takes deep root, 
and becomes the predominant power in China. 
Let Christians, then, cry mightily unto God, in 
behalf of this ancient people. His hand is not 
shortened that it cannot save, nor his ear heavy 
that it cannot hear. 



Hong Kong, October 16th, 1843. 

After getting back to Amoy on Friday, I spent 
part of that night and the next clay in writing. A 
little vessel of some thirty tons burden, here called 
a lorcha, being about to sail for Macao and Hong 
Kong, I found Mr. Roberts had taken passage in 
her. As there was no prospect of a vessel soon for 
Hong Kong from Amoy, and as I was anxious to 
reach home soon, I concluded to take a passage in 
her too. Mr. Abeel did not want me to go so soon; 
and certainly, although she promised a safe and 
quick passage, there was every prospect of its being 
an uncomfortable one, the vessel being so small, and 
likely to roll so much. No danger, however, was 
apprehended, and the price of passage, only twenty 
dollars, was an inducement. I should probably 
have had to pay forty or fifty dollars, besides 
waiting some time, if I went in a ship. The lorcha 
was manned by three Englishmen and four Chinese, 
had mat sails, and had recently come up from Macao 
against the monsoon. 

Monday at noon, though the wind was very high, 
we started. Soon got to the mouth of the harbour ; 
but there we found the wind so strong, and the sea 
so high, we were afraid to go out, and therefore put 
back to wait for better weather. The wind abated 
during the night ; and the next day, we started 



196 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

again, got to sea, and were fairly on our course. 
The wind was still strong, and the sea rough, but 
we went on finely, and in six hours were a long 
way off from Amoy. Soon after dark, however, 
our rudder was broken by the violence of a wave 
that struck it. The rudders of all the Chinese built 
vessels are very large awkward things, and very 
apt to be broken. We found ourselves quite help- 
less, as we could not direct the vessel's course at 
all. Being quite dark, there was nothing we could 
do but heave the vessel to and let her drift till day- 
light. In so small a vessel, and in such a situation, 
I considered it a little unsafe, and kept awake 
nearly all night, to see how she would behave. 
But though the wind and sea were strong and rough, 
she rode like a duck, and though rolling very much, 
took in little water. Mr. Roberts was very sea- 
sick. 

Wednesday morning, the weather continued clear 
but rough, and we found ourselves drifting along 
the coast. The men tried to make a new rudder 
with two bamboo poles, but it would not work. 
They then slept several hours, and tried to repair 
the broken rudder; but did it so awkwardly that 
it also was useless. They seemed disposed then to 
do nothing but wait for calmer weather. At this 
season of the year there was no prospect of the 
weather growing worse than it then was. I knew, 
also, that the course of the wind and current would 
cause us to drift clown along the coast in sight of 
land as far as Pedro Branca, a rock forty-five miles 
from Hong Kong. After reaching that rock, there 
would be danger of being driven out into the open 
China Sea; but at the rate we supposed we were 
going, we did not expect to see Pedro Branca for 
five or six days, and we were pretty sure in that 
time that the weather would moderate. I concluded, 
therefore, that there was no immediate cause of 
apprehension, but it was very unpleasant to think 
of spending so many days in that little rolling damp 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 197 

flace. Yet there seemed to be no help for it, and 
tried to nerve my mind to bear it. A little spray 
occasionally dashed over us, and sometimes a few 
drops forced themselves through the windows, and 
made our sleeping place wet, but altogether, it was 
very far superior to the long-boat. During Wednes- 
day night I found Mr. Roberts was a great deal 
alarmed. However, I was an older sailor than he, 
and my former "experience" now wrought "hope," 
so that I had little fear. 

Thursday we drifted on, gradually however edging 
off further from the land. One of the men had been 
along the coast frequently, and said he knew where 
we were, all the time. According to his account, 
we were drifting at about thirty miles a day. 

Thursday night also Mr. Roberts was much 
alarmed, and I confess I did not myself like the 
idea of our getting out so far from land as we 
evidently were. However, I slept well, as I had 
done the night before. The weather too seemed to 
be a little better ; wind abating some, though the 
sea was still rough. 

Friday morning at daylight we could scarcely see 
the land, and by nine o'clock, we were out of sight 
of it. Finding the men were disposed to do very 
little, I took the matter in hand, and representing 
the danger of being out at sea, urged the propriety 
of running the boat on shore if possible; and if 
nothing better offered, of trying to go to Hong Kong 
by land. This stirred them up, and they agreed to 
try and repair the rudder a little better, and do 
something in that way if possible. We saw several 
fishing-boats going out to fish, a pretty sure sign 
that the fishermen anticipated a calm time. After 
a little while the men got their rudder repaired. 
She worked admirably, and we went on our course 
finely. " Thank God," said one of the men, " we 
shall see Pedro Branca to-night." This was before 
eleven o'clock A. m. In half an hour or so, I said 
to the captain, "Is that an English or a Chinese 
17* 



198 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

vessel, away off there?"— "Well, I was just a 
lookin ; oh, I 'spose it's a Chinese vessel/ The 
mate looked at it steadfastly, " That ! that's Pedro 
Branca! forty-five miles from Hong Kong!" So it 
was, we had drifted a hundred miles further than 
we thought, and had come altogether one hundred 
and sixty miles in less than three days ! How pro- 
vidential it was we got the rudder repaired at the 
time we did ! If we had not, the probability is we 
should on that day (Friday) have been in the China 
Sea; and then almost our only hope would have 
been to have been picked up by some vessel. Truly 
goodness and mercy have followed me hitherto. 

Saturday morning at daylight we were within ten 
miles of Hong Kong. An American vessel was 
just before us. As soon as the men saw her, they 
said, " That's an American ship." " How do you 
know ?" said I. " Oh, any one who's accustomed 
to vessels can almost always tell an American ves- 
sel, they always look so clean." The remark is one 
often made. 

We anchored at nine o'clock a. m. in Hong Kong 
harbour, and having breakfasted, and called the men 
into the cabin to render thanks to God for the good- 
ness and mercy received on our voyage, we went 
ashore; we were only one day longer in coming 
than we had expected to be, notwithstanding the 
loss of our rudder. 

Most of my friends in Hong Kong declared they 
never would go to sea with me, as the elements 
were leagued against me, and that I must consider 
myself as settled in Macao or Hong Kong. The 
ship we saw, which got in just before us, was the 
Zenobia. I did not get my letters till evening, and 
it kept me till bed-time to get through with all, — 
but oh, what news ! a beloved brother hopefully 
pious ; a donation of ten thousand dollars for Chi- 
na; five new missionaries preparing for the same 
great field ! My heart was full. For hours after I 
went to bed 1 could not sleep. Oh how I thought 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE, 199 

of the past, the present and the future ! I got up 
and walked about the room ; being "merry," 1 sang 
a hymn ; and knelt down to pray. Oh, it is worth 
a great deal to get such news, and so delightful 
after the unpleasant contrast of the week previous. 

Found the Hepburns had started about ten days 
before in a very fine vessel for Amoy ; was very 
glad to hear it, though I knew that with the winds 
they had had they could make little progress, and 
would have a dreadfully rough time. 

Sabbath (yesterday) I preached in the chapel 
here in the morning, and talked to the boys in Mr. 
Brown's school in the evening. 

To-day I meant to have gone to Macao, but not 
being able to get the specie on board the Zenobia 
safely deposited, I found it necessary to remain 
another day. Just about four o'clock, who should 
come in but Dr. and Mrs. Hepburn, driven back by 
the bad weather? They were far more surprised to 
see me than I to see them. They have had dread- 
ful weather, and a rough time. Poor Mrs. H. was 
very sea-sick, but looks quite as well as when I left 
Macao. They will probably start in a few days to 
make a second effort. 

Macao, October 22d, 1843. The gale in which we 
lost our rudder in the lorcha, and drifted so far, 
was quite terrific further south. The vessel in 
which the Hepburns were, had to put back with the 
loss of spars, sails, &c. ; several other vessels had 
also to put back, and this last week in Hong Kong, 
we heard that the vessel in which Mr. Medhurst 
and Mr. Milne were proceeding to Chusan, had lost 
her top-masts, had her captain swept overboard and 
drowned, and was finally obliged to put into Manilla 
in distress. Mr. Milne, describing the gale, said 
that "for ten hours they expected nothing but 
death." 

This week I have had a regular attack of chill 
and fever, the first for thirteen years. It was 
brought on, I have no doubt, by the exposure of 



200 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

the last six weeks. Last Thursday was the first 
day I have spent in bed from sickness, for more 
than eight }^ears. 

October 24th. How sad and mysterious often- 
times are the dispensations of Providence ! I must 
close my journal with the death of the Rev. Mr. 
Dyer, who has been so long engaged in preparing 
Chinese metal type. He came up here in July 
with the other missionaries of the London Mission- 
ary Society, to attend a missionary meeting ordered 
by their society in Hong Kong. After transacting 
all the business required, he went to Canton to see 
the place, and was there taken with the disease 
that has prevailed so fearfully in Hong Kong this 
year. He began to recover, took his passage in a 
vessel going to Singapore, and came down to Hong 
Kong ; I saw him there on board his ship, the day 
I got back from Amoy. He was recovering rapidly. 
The vessel came over here, and was unexpectedly 
detained several days ; he had a relapse, was brought 
ashore to our house, and died this morning at ten 
o'clock. Yesterday his mind was wandering all day, 
but this morning he was sensible, knew us all, knew 
he was dying, said he felt " very happy," and often 
repeated "sweet Jesus, sweet Jesus." I was with 
him when he died. His spirit seemed to depart 
with scarcely a struggle. He had been out in this 
region seventeen years, and there is no one who can 
take the place he occupied. He has left a wife and 
four children. Humanly speaking, his death is a 
very great loss. He was a man of piety and prayer, 
and of a most catholic spirit. 

Thus we go: one after another is called to his 
long home. In one respect, the death of these ser- 
vants of God is even cheering. Their work is 
finished, and thus another part of the great work 
God has to do on earth is accomplished. It will 
not have to be done again. . . . 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 201 



Macao, November 4th, 1843. 

To the Society of Inquiry in the Western Theo- 
logical Seminary. 

Dear Brethren: — On the 27th of July, this 
year, a letter was put into my hands, addresed to 
my colleague in this mission, the Rev. T. L. McBryde. 
As you will have learned before now, he sailed for 
the United States, early in the month preceding its 
arrival. He left with me, however, a discretionary 
power to open his letters, and suspecting from the 
postmark that it was from your society, I opened 
and read it. I suppose that a letter from myself in 
reply, will be nearly equally acceptable, especially 
as I was brought up almost in sight of your Semi- 
nary, and have spent more than half of my life 
within thirty miles of it. 

I can assure you, that it will ever afford me great 
pleasure to correspond with you. I have been a 
theological student myself, and know the interest 
that such students feel in letters from missionaries ; 
and I can speak from experience too, when I say 
that a missionary is glad to receive letters from a 
society like yours. It was interesting to me to read 
your accounts of the revivals of religion in the West, 
for it recalled the memory of other days, when I 
also shared in such precious seasons. Dear brethren, 
you cannot too highly value, nor too sedulously im- 
prove, the opportunities you now have of intercourse 
m Christian society, — -of labouring for the good of 
souls, and especially of being present where the 
Spirit of the Lord is poured out. Should you ever 
become missionaries to the heathen, there is nothing 
that, in the review, will give you more real delight 
than to recall such times. I have in my native land 
mingled in various scenes; I have gone to the 
literary feast, the crowded assembly, and the cheer- 
ful social circle,, and found pleasure in all; but I 
now recall, with far more satisfaction, the solitary 



202 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

walk over the hills with a single Christian brother, 
the visit to the poor old Christian negro's cottage, 
the little prayer-meeting in the house where the lame 
mother in Israel joined in the song of praise, and the 
country Sabbath school. I have forgotten many 
other things, but I have not forgotten the Brainerd 
meetings of Jefferson College, nor the time when, in 
one of the rooms in your seminary, a classmate and 
myself bowed the knee in prayer to our common 
Father. Lay up a store of such things for recollection, 
and they will cheer many a lonely hour in your 
future course. 

Your letter asks several questions, which I will 
answer, and also, if you permit, will acid some other 
items. You ask what special preparation is neces- 
sary for the field of labour? I think, principally 
those of a spiritual nature. I mean, strong faith to 
believe Grod s promises that the world shall be con- 
verted, for you will find little in the outward aspect 
of things to make you think so ; patience and perse- 
verance, for both are needed. You may have to 
labour here for many years, and see little apparent 
fruit of your labour. Above all, put on charity, 
which is the bond of perfectness. Cultivate the 
spirit of love and forbearance, for you will find 
abundant occasion for its exercise. I trust you have 
none of those romantic notions that will induce you 
to think a missionary a superior being. We are 
men of like passions with others. We come from 
different parts of the world with different views, 
from the influences of very different states of public 
feeling. We come to a country where there is no 
public feeling, where each man must judge for him- 
self, where there is no standard of public opinion 
such as you have at home. In such circumstances, 
it is natural to expect great diversity of views, and 
nothing but the spirit of meekness, and forbearance, 
and love will enable you to live happily with your 
fellow-labourers. The longer I live, the more I am 
struck with the expressiveness of those reiterated 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 203 

commands of our Saviour in his last address to his 
disciples, to love one another. Brethren, study and 
practise the thirteenth chapter of first Corinthians, 
and it will do you good wherever you are. 

As to other preparations, the more you know on 
all subjects, provided you know it well, the better. 
There is hardly an item of general knowledge of any 
kind that I ever acquired, which I have not already 
found occasion to bring into use. On subjects of 
general knowledge, it is important, if you come to 
this field, to know pretty well the histories of 
England, France, and India. I take for granted 
that you know the history of our own country 
thoroughly, and can tell why the American flag has 
thirteen stripes, and twenty-six stars. Study Geo- 
logy and Botany by all means. These two sciences 
are of prime importance, and you will almost daily 
find the benefit of an acquaintance with them. I 
do not think a knowledge of medicine necessary to a 
missionary to China. If you have an opportunity 
of learning something about it, very well; but you 
will not, I think, find it advantageous to unite an 
extensive medical practice with the preaching of the 
Gospel. The two should go together, but it seems 
better that they should be performed by different 
persons. 

I think the climate of the ports of Mngpo and 
Shanghae will be found most suitable for persons 
from the United States. Persons disposed to bilious 
complaints and dyspeptics will suffer a good deal 
in the Canton and Fuhkeen provinces. I think 
a confirmed dyspeptic might almost as well not come 
here. Persons liable to consumption would find the 
Canton and Fuhkeen provinces delightful residences, 
and I think that even those of bilious habits would 
be nearly as safe in Mngpo and Chusan, as in the 
United States. They have ice and snow there in 
winter. The Chinese language is very difficult, and 
I am disposed to say, that one who cannot make 
some tolerable progress in Latin, Greek, or Hebrew, 



204 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

may as well not come here. The language is the 
difficulty in China. I do not think it unattainable. 
I think its difficulties have been exaggerated. I 
think that every year its acquisition will be found 
easier, because more facilities in the way of elemen- 
tary books, and access to the people, are being 
afforded. In other respects, I do not consider the 
field as " peculiarly arduous." On the contrary, 
it is a peculiarly inviting one. I came here almost 
unwillingly, for 1 wanted to go to Africa, but what 
I have seen has made me glad I came; and if I 
know my own heart, its desire is to live and die 
among this people. One thing is very certain, mis- 
sionaries who come to this people will find them in 
general poor and ignorant. Here, emphatically, "to 
the poor the gospel will be preached." You must 
therefore make up your minds to become teachers 
of babes when you come to this people. There are, 
I admit, many exceptions, and you will often meet 
men of considerable learning and tact, but the mass 
of the people are as above described. Your own 
experience has probably already taught you, that 
it is more difficult for an educated man to come 
down and instruct the ignorant, than it is to instruct 
those who already know something. This sugges- 
tion, therefore, may assist you somewhat in judging 
of the qualities a missionary needs, in instructing 
this people : they are patience, a facility in finding 
comparisons, a talent for simplifying, an engaging 
address, &c. &e. 

.... There are many items of intelligence I might 
communicate to you ; but you will see in the pages 
of the Chronicle and Foreign Missionary, much 
more than I can possibly write at this time, and 
therefore I shall refer you to them. I do so the 
more readily, because I have nothing of especial 
interest to communicate to you, except what this 
letter contains, which will not appear in one or other 
of those publications. My own progress in the lan- 
guage has been but small. Nearly one-half of the 



MEMOIR 'OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 205 

time, since my arrival in China, has been spent in 
voyages, and other engagements connected with the 
mission; so that altogether I have given but eight 
or nine months' close attention to it. Still I am 
encouraged, and hope ere long to have a tolerably 
good acquaintance with it. 

Allow me, in conclusion, to make some remarks 
on your own duty in reference to the heathen, and 
these I trust you will receive not as coming from a 
superior, but from one himself recently a theological 
student, and still remembering the feelings of such. 
Your letter speaks with just severity of the incon- 
sistency of those who pass resolutions to do some- 
thing special for the cause of foreign missions, and 
yet make no special efforts to accomplish their re- 
solutions. You speak too of the apathy of the 
churches on this subject, and, as I think, partly lay 
the blame at the door of the pastors of the churches. 
I am convinced from what I have seen, and I saw 
a good deal before leaving the United States, that 
the fault is with the ministry. "Like priest, like 
people," is an ancient and true proverb. But I do 
not mean to blame the ministry in general, nor to 
pass an indiscriminate censure even on those of 
them who have done little or nothing. My object 
rather is to forget the things that are behind, and 
to press forward to those that are before. Hence 
it has ever appeared exceedingly important, that 
the students in our theological seminaries should 
have the right spirit in the matter. Could I but 
see the right spirit prevailing in our theological 
seminaries, I am almost certain that in ten years 
our whole church would assume an entirely different 
appearance, as it regards the cause of foreign and 
domestic missions. Why? Because in that time 
I suppose our seminaries would have supplied five 
hundred pastors of churches at least, and they 
would be settled in all parts of the country. Sup- 
pose now that those five hundred pastors had the 
right spirit, and joined their influence heartily with 

18 



206 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

the ministers already earnestly engaged, and what 
would be the effect ? Their influence would be felt 
in all our Presbyteries and Synods. When the 
Assembly passed resolutions, there would be men 
enough to respond to them. We should no more 
hear that more than half our churches give nothing 
at all to the cause of Christ. The whole appearance 
of things would be entirely altered. Now, brethren, 
you form a part of those five hundred ministers. 
The most of you, I suppose, will become pastors in 
different parts of the country. What is your spirit 
now in regard to the benevolent operations of the 
day? What do you intend to do when you are 
settled over your several charges ? Shall the theo- 
logical students of 1853 make the same complaints 
of you, that you make of your predecessors ? 

I have no doubt that many of you, I trust all of 
you, intend to do something at least for foreign mis- 
sions. Your own personal duty as to becoming mis- 
sionaries, is a subject I shall not now touch upon. 
I wish to refer to the influence on behalf of foreign 
missions, which you may exert on the people. 
Your intentions are doubtless good, but what prepa- 
rations are you now making? What do you know 
of missions ? Do you think you will be able to keep 
up the interest of your people in the Monthly Con- 
cert? Do you think you will be able to teach 
them the true principles of missions; not romantic 
views, but sober, common-sense, Christian princi- 
ples? Do you think you will be able to sustain 
the interest of your people from year to year, and 
not merely to sustain it, but to cause it to grow ; to 
take deeper root ; to become more and more a mat- 
ter of principle, and less and less one of mere im- 
pulse ? Do you think you will be able to do with- 
out the visits of agents ? I trust you will pardon me 
if I say, I fear that some of you cannot answer these 
questions in the affirmative. I do not know any of 
you personally, and therefore you will not of course 
consider my remarks as personal. I only speak 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 207 

from my knowledge of theological students in 
general, and that has been pretty extensive, and 
sufficiently accurate to justify me in making the 
above remarks. It is no easy thing to bring the 
church up to the mark, and to keep her there, and 
you will find this very soon after you are settled 
in the ministry. You will find that without a 
tolerably thorough and extensive acquaintance with 
the history and principles of missions, you cannot 
do it. 

Do you ask me, then, what you are to do ? I say, 
first learn. Now is your time, while you are in the 
seminary. Lay a deep and broad foundation of 
missionary knowledge; study the prophecies of the 
Bible in reference to this point, and study them 
specially. See what prophecies relate to Africa; 
what to the Jews ; whether there are any for 
China. Learn the history of the progress of the 
gospel in all ages and countries, but particularly 
within the last fifty years. Study the history of 
particular missions. I take it for granted you will 
study the history of our own Board and its missions, 
but I hope you will not confine yourself to them. 
God has blessed other societies, both in America 
and England, abundantly; and now, when the 
means of information are so accessible, why should 
you not avail yourselves of them ? Study the Bible 
with reference to this point. Why is it that some 
men at Monthly Concerts read only the seventy- 
second Psalm, and the sixtieth chapter of Isaiah ? 
They really seem to think that there are no other 
parts of the Bible that speak of missions. Having 
learned these things — and you see from this hasty 
outline that there is not a little to be learned, and 
that you can best commence learning it while in the 
seminary — the next thing will be to teach. This 
will be your duty in the public services of the sanc- 
tuary, in the Monthly Concert, in friendly visits 
among your people, and, above all, in the Sabbath- 
school. Let it be a special object with you to 



208 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

interest the young, and you will certainly succeed. 
But I have written till my hand is wearied, and 
perhaps have wearied your patience. What I have 
written, however, though hastily penned, has not 
been hastily gathered. I trust it will not be hastily 
passed over by you. I shall be most happy to hear 
from you as soon as you wish to write, and shall 
prefer that you ask me questions, which I shall 
answer as I can. I have some questions to ask 
you in return, to which I shall be glad to receive 
answers. What is the order and nature of your 
exercises in the Society of Inquiry, and the Monthly 
Concert ? Do your students make it a point of con- 
science to inquire into their own personal duty to 
the heathen ? And is this done in the early part of 
your theological course ? Do your students gene- 
rally read the missionary publications, particularly 
the Chronicle and Herald? I don't mean, do you 
take them? for I have known many students to 
take, who scarcely ever read them. Is your Month- 
ly Concert well attended ? Do you have any mis- 
sionary exercises in your Sabbath-schools ? And if 
so, what and how frequently? Have any of your 
students ever written one or more missionary ser- 
mons before leaving the Seminary ? 

If you publish a catalogue, I shall be glad to 
receive a copy. And now, dear brethren, I must 
close. I make no apology for the plainness of my 
remarks and questions, and trust you will receive 
them in the same frank and Christian spirit with 
which they are made. Pray for me. That the 
choicest blessings of God may ever rest upon you, 
is the prayer of 

Your brother in Christ, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 209 



Macao, December 15th, 1843. 
My Dear Mother — . . . It has become so cold 
within a day or two past that I have to think of 
old times. . . . My teacher comes in with half a 
dozen jackets on, and draws his hands into the long- 
lined sleeves of the third of them, sitting as snug 
and cosy, as if he had a little fireplace under his 
elbows. By the way, it is extremely common for 
Chinese of any wealth to carry a small metal vessel, 
as large as a man's fist, with live coals in it. It is 
used to warm their fingers with, and when covered 
up in the long sleeve must diffuse a very grateful 
warmth up the arm. Frost and snow are so seldom 
met with here, that neither the Chinese nor the 
Portuguese ever build fireplaces in their houses. 
If necessary they use a brazier with charcoal, but 
commonly adopt the expedient of heaping on addi- 
tional clothes. Did I ever describe to you the win- 
ter dress of the generality of the Chinese about 
here ? You would laugh if you saw them. 1 do not 
know what they have next to the skin, but from the 
waist to the ankle the outside dress is a pair of very 
closely fitting drawers, which show exactly the form 
of the whole of the lower extremities. Then the 
upper part of the body is covered with the loose 
jacket, of which they wear as many as the weather 
requires, or their means permit. Their appearance 
is consequently next thing to ridiculous. The 
whole of the upper part of the body looks like a 
barrel with a head on the top of it, while the legs 
stick out beneath like a pair of compasses. What 
adds to the effect of the whole, is, that the drawers 
are of various colours blue, green, yellow, black and 
white. Many a time I have laughed at the comical 
appearance of a young dandy, who thought he was 
making a grand display in his new clothes and well- 
turned limbs. I should like to see one of them in 
Broadway, with his thick soled shoes and green 
tights, his wadded vests, and round cap and long 

18* 



210 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

tail behind. Yet, after all, I am a great admirer of 
the Chinese modes of dress. Their drawers, and 
the thick-soled shoes, and the tails are the worst 
parts; but the better classes do not wear the 
drawers, or at least they wear another garment over 
them It would amuse you to see how uni- 
versal the use of the fan is. I have seen a coolie 
or common labourer, sweating along the streets 
under a heavy burden, and fanning himself all the 
time. It is funny to see some of the mechanics, and 
others a grade or two above the coolies, fanning 
themselves in summer. Their dress then consists 
of a pair of very loose trowsers fastened round the 
waist by a string, and an upper garment reaching a 
little lower than the top of the trowsers, and hang- 
ing loose over them. You will see them every now 
and then putting their hands behind them, and fan- 
ning up their backs, under this jacket. 

My teacher is quite intelligent for a Chinese, 
though he knows almost nothing of anything beyond 
China. He thinks it very strange that we say 
north, east, south, and west, for the Chinese say 
east, west, south and north. It is also very strange 
to him that we say north-east, south-east, &c, for 
the Chinese say east-north, east-south, west-north, 
&c. I was amused at a talk we had yesterday about 
the Chinese queue, or tail, as we commonly call 
it. He said that formerly it was not worn, but that 
the present fashion of shaving all the front of the 
head and leaving it to grow long and braiding it 
behind was introduced about two hundred years ago, 
by the present Tartar dynasty. 

I told him about the death and resurrection of 
Christ, at which he seemed much surprised. He 
asked if Christ was not a man like Confucius. I 
told him no, but the Son of God. As his curiosity 
seemed to be somewhat excited, I told him I had a 
biography of Christ which I would lend him, if he 
wished to read it. He said he would, so I gave him 
a New Testament, which he took away with him. 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 211 

Oh that the Spirit of God may make it a blessing to 
him. . . 

With love to all the family, I remain, 

Yours affectionately, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



Macao, November 20th, 1843. 

To the Society of Inquiry of Princeton Theolo- 
gical Seminary. 

Dear Brethren: — It is now rather more than 
two years since I finally left your institution. I 
did not intend that so long a time should elapse 
without writing to you, for both my own inclinations, 
and a kind request from your corresponding secre- 
tary, have made me wish to hold a correspondence 
with you. Circumstances, however, over which I 
have had little control, have induced me to defer 
writing till the present period. You may be sure it 
has not been for want of interest in your institution 
that I have so long delayed. On the contrary, the 
thoughts of hallowed seasons in the old Oratory 
where you meet, have been among the most plea- 
sant of the many pleasant recollections I have 
brought from the land of my birth. 

You have doubtless heard marvellous accounts of 
the difficulty of the Chinese language, and the time 
necessary to gain even a 6 smattering' in it. Ten, 
fifteen, twenty, and even twenty-five years have I 
heard assigned as the time in which a person may 
hope to gain some little acquaintance with it. Now 
all this is certainly incorrect. There is no doubt 
it is a very hard language. If any of you come 
here, you will need a great deal more resolution and 
spirit than you found needed for Hebrew. It is, I 
suppose, the hardest language in the world, and 



212 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

perhaps no foreigner will ever acquire it perfect!?/; 
certainly no foreigner ever has acquired it perfectly. 
But I have seen several men who have been here 
much less than ten years who do speak it with great 
fluency, and are quite intelligible, not merely to the 
teacher who has become accustomed to their pro- 
nunciation and modes of thought, but to the people 
in general, and that too in the most difficult of all 
the dialects. Nor are those who have made such 
acquirements men of the most splendid talents, and 
wonderful facilities in learning languages. They are 
little, if anything, superior to the most of those who 
become missionaries. It is also a most important 
consideration that the facilities for learning the lan- 
guage are now vastly greater than they have ever 
before been, so that at the northern ports especially, 
a person may hope to learn the language in two- 
thirds of the time that was formerly requisite. By 
facilities I mean, books, teachers, and especially 
opportunities of access to the people. I do not wish 
to give you the impression that it is a light work to 
learn it. If any of you come here with that im- 
pression, you will be sadly disappointed. But if you 
come, and sit down manfully to the task, determined 
from the outset to be satisfied with nothing less 
than an accurate acquaintance with the tones, and 
with the sounds, and with the idioms, you will find 
yourselves in two years' time proceeding with profit 
and pleasure. By that time you will have gained 
much acquaintance with the character of the people ; 
you will be astonished at the vastness of the field 
open before you, and you will thank God that he 
has sent you to labour for this great and ancient 
race. 

If you come here as missionaries, you must ex- 
pect many trials. They will come upon you in un- 
thought-of ways, and where you looked for most 
joy, you may perhaps find most sorrow. I am led 
to make this remark for two reasons. It is a fact 
that Chinese missionaries have been remarkably 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 213 

tried, some by sickness, some by loss of relatives, 
some by personal inconveniences and disappoint- 
ments. There are some twenty or more mission- 
aries to China, not including females ; of these twen- 
ty, there are scarcely three who have not met some 
sore trial within the last fifteen months. I do not 
know whether missionaries to other countries have 
been so generally afflicted ; but very many of them 
have, and you may be called to experience the same. 
There is also another reason that induces me to 
think that missionaries to China must expect trials. 
We have a very great work to perform. If China 
contain, as it probably does, one-third of the popu- 
lation of the globe, and if this people is to be con- 
verted to Gfod, then no words of mine are needed, 
as no human words are able to express the great- 
ness of the work before us. But when was it ever 
known that any great work was accomplished with- 
out labour and toil, self-denial, sacrifice, and often- 
times the acutest mental anguish? Has not every 
great work that ever has been performed for God 
m the world been watered by the sweat, and the 
tears, and the blood of his servants ? And can we 
expect that the conversion of the most populous 
nation of the globe shall be accomplished with or- 
dinary efforts and ordinary sorrows ? General ex- 
perience is against it. The experience of mission- 
aries to China is against it. And the example of 
God our Saviour, who, to accomplish the world's 
redemption, became " sorrowful even unto death," 
should teach us, who are to be "partakers of his 
sufferings," not to expect it. We need to be 
humbled in the dust before we can be trusted with 
success, where success is to be so glorious. We 
need to be purified in the furnace before we can 
labour with acceptance, where our acceptable labours 
are to redound so much to the glory of God ; yet 
do not think that these trials will make you un- 
happy. For a time they will be hard to bear; but 
" He giveth more grace." And great as have been 



214 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

the trials of the missionaries here, I have seldom 
associated with persons who seemed so truly happy 
as do most of my fellow-labourers in China. These 
trials are necessary for us here, and it was well 
remarked to me by one who was herself called to 
bear the yoke, " Trials are one of our most precious 
means of grace." 

If I may judge from what I have seen in the 
papers, the impression is gaining ground, that mis- 
sionaries should be unmarried men: and some of 
the principal reasons adduced for this opinion are, 
that it will cost much less to sustain them; they 
will be much more free to move about and embrace 
favourable opportunities of doing good ; they will be 
less likely to go home ; and after all, the wives of 
missionaries do not do so very much, in the way of 
direct labour, and would not be very much missed. 
Those who are in favour of the marriage of mission- 
aries insist very much on the direct usefulness of 
the wives of missionaries, and there are many who 
seem to think this is the chief reason for sending 
them. Now, with all due deference to the advo- 
cates of both sides, it strikes me that these argu- 
ments place the subject on the wrong ground, and 
present it in a false light. 

Missionaries are men of like passions with others, 
and in the present day, when miraculous influences 
have ceased, I know not why they should be judged 
of in a different way from other men; or why the 
broad principles of the Bible are not as applicable 
to them as to other men. Now one of the first 
principles of the Bible on this subject is, "It is not 

food that the man should be alone." This principle, 
conceive, was recognized by our Saviour when the 
disciples said, "It is not good to marry." He who 
knew what was in man, said, "All men cannot re- 
ceive this saying — he that is able to receive it, let 
him receive it." This is the rule by which this 
question must be decided. It is not good for the 
great majority of men to be alone; first, because, if 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 215 

alone they are exposed to temptations, which sad 
experience proves that most men cannot withstand ; 
secondly, because, though they may by grace with- 
stand the temptations to actual sin, yet they are 
not contented ; and they want those solaces of affec- 
tion which the human heart craves, and those coun- 
sels of intimate friendship that are so grateful to 
him that is separated from the influences of Chris- 
tian society. If, then, you can live sinlessly in the 
unmarried state; if you can be contented; if you 
can be satisfied without the kindly influences of 
female society ; then I say, it is probably your duty 
to be an unmarried missionary, but not otherwise. 

The expense is not the question; and as long as 
the Church is so abundantly able to bear it as she 
now is, it is a shame to mention such a considera- 
tion, or to ask, why does not the missionary live as 
the whalers and fur-hunters do ? 

There is force in the consideration, that an un- 
married missionary is more free to move about, and 
at times to occupy stations where married men can- 
not easily go, and the consideration should have its 
own weight with those who think of this subject. 
But there is equal force in the consideration, that 
permanent good, and visible effects have most com- 
monly followed where the married missionary has 
settled, and by his settlement concentrated his 
efforts. The direct usefulness of the missionary's 
wife, is by no means the main point in deciding this 
question. Her first duty in all cases is to attend to 
her husband and children ; and if she have time and 
strength for more than this, then that is all clear 
gain. Let her preserve her husband from those 
temptations to which unmarried men are exposed ; 
let her soothe him in his hours of despondency; let 
her relieve him from the household cares that must 
interrupt him if unmarried ; let her soften the dispo- 
sition that without her influence would become 
rough and rude ; (for as Bacon says, " Certainly wife 
and children are a kind of discipline of humanity;") 



216 MEMOIR OP WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

let her show by her silent example what a Christian 
wife and mother is, and how she should be treated ; 
and if she never learns a syllable of the native lan- 
guage, or teaches a single heathen child a letter, she 
has accomplished a work worth ten times more than 
the expense of her outfit and support. These obser- 
vations may excite a smile, but they are not written 
in levity. They may appear strange, and half- 
romantic, but only to those who have romantic 
views of missions. Much thought and the acquaint- 
ance of several missionaries, convince me that they 
are the words of truth and soberness. As to the 
question whether it is the wife who causes the re- 
turn of the missionary, although the general opinion 
seems to be that it is, yet I have my doubts. Cer- 
tainly the experience of the Presbyterian Board does 
not say so; for of all their missionaries who have 
returned on account of ill health, Mr. Rogers of 
North India is the only one who has yet been 
taken back by his wife's ill health ; in every other 
case it is the husband's ill health that has taken the 
wife back. The experience of the American Board 
seems to be different; but I should be glad to see a 
fuller array of facts, than the celebrated paper of 
Dr. Anderson presents. It does not strike me that 
the whole of the facts, in regard to the return of all 
who do return, is there presented. If I remember 
rightly, that paper speaks of the return of so many 
married missionaries, but does not say anything 
about the return of unmarried missionaries. 

I have been exceedingly pained by some articles 
I have seen lately in the papers, in reference to the 
claims of the domestic and foreign fields. The spirit 
of the articles referred to has not been of the right 
kind. I have no doubt their authors meant wel], 
but it appears to me to be an exceedingly erroneous 
course, to attempt to set the claims of foreign and 
domestic missions in array and in opposition against 
each other, or to say that too much attention has 
been given to the one, to the neglect of the other. 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 217 

The attempts I have seen in some of the papers to 
show that literally more has been done for foreign 
than for domestic missions, I pass by, as unworthy 
of an answer : you can count every cent that is ex- 
pended for the foreign field, but you have not the 
statistics for one-half the expenses of the domestic 
field ; and yet it is easily shown that even the half 
of those expenses is much greater than all that is 
expended abroad. These men talk of the vastness 
of the domestic field, of the favourable openings, of 
the need of labourers ; and they tell us that these 
men are our brethren, and have special claims upon 
us. I admit it all, and if I could add anything to 
the force of what they say, I would beseech you, by 
the mercies of Christ, and by your love for the 
souls of your brethren, to do with your might what 
your hands find to do for them. But why should 
this be done by disparaging the claims of the foreign 
field ? brethren, if I could show you what I have 
lately seen, — the numerous openings where the 
gospel may be preached, the unnumbered thousands 
who are accessible with far more ease than the scat- 
tered inhabitants of the West, the fewness and 
feebleness of the labourers sent by the Church, — and 
if we could all feel that these, too, are our brethren, 
seeing God hath made us all of one blood to dwell 
on all the face of the earth, you would give little 
heed to such unworthy comparisons. If the church 
were now doing all in her power; if every nerve 
were strained as much as the gospel requires, then 
there might be occasion to pause, and ask, Are we 
not doing too much here, or too much there ? But 
as long as more than half the Church is doing 
nothing, absolutely nothing, let there be no more 
complaints that too much is done for the heathen. 
I object to the papers referred to, because they give 
countenance to the idea, that the interests of the 
foreign and domestic fields are not the same. If 
there is any man who renounces such an idea, it is 
the missionary to the heathen. Our hearts rejoice 
19 



218 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRTE. 

within us when we hear of the extension of the 
cause of Christ at home, and that the gospel is 
preached to the poor and the destitute. Why? 
Not only because of the amount of actual good 
accomplished, but because we know that thus new 
funds, and new men, are raised up for the foreign 
field, and additional prayers ascend on our behalf. 
Every conquest at home increases our strength 
abroad. But if we are told that these conquests 
are to be gained henceforth by diminishing the 
efforts abroad, and disparaging the importance of 
the work in which we are engaged, then we have 
small reason to rejoice. But I will not believe that 
such one-sided views shall ever gain general cur- 
rency among those who see and know, that one of 
the surest ways to promote vital piety at home, is 
to make it active and expansive; so that, while it 
rejoices to do good to those around, it embraces the 
world in the wide arms of charity. 

I observe that one of the "standing requests" you 
propose to your foreign correspondents is, " Can you 
send us any curiosities?" To this I answer, "Yes, 
plenty; if I had the money to buy them with." 
feuch things are not easily to be procured without 
paying for them; and as a missionary's salary does 
not commonly give him a great deal of spending 
money besides his necessary expenses, he cannot 
easily send many curiosities to all who would like 
to have them. I will, however, keep my eyes 
open, and endeavour to make some addition to your 
cabinet. Allow me to suggest whether it would 
not be better for you to make an annual appropria- 
tion of ten, twenty, or thirty dollars, and request 
some of the missionaries to procure articles for your 
cabinet? I will most cheerfully undertake any such 
commission for you, and will procure either such 
articles as you may specify, or myself select such 
as may be interesting. There will be no difficulty 
in remitting the money, for all that is necessary is 
to pay it at the Mission Rooms in New York, 



MEMOIR OP WALTER M. LOWRIE. 219 

stating that it is "for curiosities, &c., for the Semi- 
nary at Princeton." Have you a set of the Chinese 
Repository? I know you have one or two of the 
volumes ; but it is very desirable that you have the 
whole set, for there is no work, ancient or modern, 
that gives so much information concerning China. 
If you will give me instructions to that effect, and 
tell me what volumes you have, I can easily pro- 
cure you the others. There are now twelve volumes ; 
the first and second are six dollars each, and the 
other ten three dollars each, being forty-two dollars 
for the set. It is continued yearly at three dollars 
a year. 

I must now bring this long epistle to a close. 
That every blessing from above may rest upon you, 
may direct your future course, and crown your 
labours with success, is the prayer of your friend and 
brother in the gospel, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



Macao, December 30th, 1843. 

My Dear Father.- — . . . . The principal occurrence 
of interest during the month has been some rather 
public discussions of the visit paid by Mr. Abeel 
and myself to Chang-Chowfoo. After my return, 
Mr. Bridgman and others importuned me to write 
an account of it for the Chinese Repository. I de- 
clined at first, from a dislike to make myself so 
prominent as such an account would necessarily 
make me. Being still urged I consented, and Mr. 
Bridgman and myself looked over it carefully to 
see that there were no incorrect statements; and, 
not to offend our English friends, omitted all refer- 
ence to the manner in which the officers at Chang- 
Chow spoke of Americans. The article was read 
with interest, and among others an English officer 
of some influence in Hong Kong spoke of it quite 
favourably. Judge, then, of my surprise, when a 



220 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

few days afterwards Sir Henry Pottinger published 
a proclamation expressly referring to it, pointedly 
condemning our conduct, and informing the Chinese 
authorities of the Provinces of Canton and Fuhkeen, 
that the "party, &c, were Americans!" This ex- 
cited no little talk, and I heard many persons con- 
demn Sir Henry's course as impertinent and uncalled 
for, though I found that the insinuations of the pro- 
clamation were leaving unfavourable impressions as 
to my conduct. I accordingly prepared a reply, and 
sent it to the " Friend of China." A cautious friend 
in Hong Kong, without my leave, withdrew the 
article. When he gave me his reasons, I did not 
deem them sufficient. I could not see how a plain 
and manly defence of one's course against uncalled 
for and injurious charges was improper. I consi- 
dered too that our American citizenship and freedom 
from the surveillance of English authorities, were 
important circumstances in our favor in carrying on 
the work of missions here, and were to be defended 
and maintained. Accordingly I wrote another arti- 
cle, which appeared this week in the Friend of 
China. 

In consequence of Sir Henry's letter to the gover- 
nor of Canton, the latter addressed a letter to the 
American consul, informing him of the affair, and 
urging him to enforce on his countrymen the neces- 
sity of obedience to the treaty. Mr. Forbes wrote 
back that his countrymen would always obey the 
laws when made known ; but that when we went to 
Chang-Chow, the supplementary treaty was not 
known to us. He also wrote me a very gentle- 
manly letter, more, I suppose, as a matter of form 
than anything else, informing me of the communica- 
tion of the governor of Canton. 

The notoriety attending this affair has been not 
a little unpleasant and annoying to me, but I do not 
feel that I have done anything to be ashamed of. I 
suppose it is to be considered as one of the neces- 
sary trials of this state of warfare, and a wholesome 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 221 

discipline to prepare me for future trials. Pray for 
me that I may nave wisdom and prudence to guide 

me in all my ways 

Your affectionate son, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



CHAPTER Y. 

1844. 



Residence in Macao — Letters — Chinese Printing with Metal Type — 
Arrival of New Missionaries— Their Fields of Labour. 

During the year 1844, the missionary force in 
China was much enlarged. In February, D. B. 
McCartee, M.D., and Mr. R. Cole, printer, and his 
wife, reached China. The Rev. R. Q. Way and his 
wife arrived in July, and the Rev. Messrs. J. Lloyd, 
A. P. Happer, M.D., A. W. Loomis, and M. S. Cul- 
bertson, with Mrs. Loomis and Mrs. Culbertson, in 
October. 

The location of these brethren at the different 
missions, was a subject of much importance, and of 
some delicacy. In relation to it, the officers of the 
Board had conversed freely with the new mission- 
aries, after which, with some general suggestions 
from the Executive Committee, the matter was left 
to their own decision. Though younger than some 
of his colleagues, yet as the missionary longest in 
China, much of the responsibility rested on Mr. 
Lowrie; and until their respective missions were 
fixed, it was to him a time of much anxiety and 
care. After a season of prayer for Divine direc- 
tion, with much harmony they arranged their places 
at the different missions. At Canton were settled 
Mr. Happer, and for the present, Mr. Cole, with the 
press ) at Amoy, Mr, Lloyd and Dr. Hepburn, who 

19* 



222 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

were to be joined by the "Rev. H. A. Brown, when 
he should arrive ; at Ningpo, Mr. Lowrie, Mr. Way, 
Mr. Culbertson, Mr. Loomis, and Dr. McCartee. 
This arrangement involved the separation of two 
friends, Messrs. Lloyd and Lowrie, and most deeply 
was it felt by both. Both were convinced, however, 
that the interests of the Master's cause required 
this trial, keen as it was, and after a short inter- 
view of two weeks, they parted to meet no more on 
earth. 

The printing press and the Chinese matrices were 
received in February, when Mr. Cole arrived. The 
theory of printing the Chinese language with metal 
type — a large portion of them being divisible cha- 
racters — was to be reduced to practice, and tested 
by actual experiment. The type were to be cast, 
and four thousand different characters were to be 
arranged in cases for the compositor. To be con- 
venient, the characters most frequently used re- 
quired to be placed together, whilst regard was to 
be had to the principles of the language, as arranged 
under the different radicals or keys. Mr. Cole was 
experienced in English printing, but he had no 
knowledge of Chinese, and the entire arrangement 
of the Chinese characters devolved on Mr. Lowrie. 
Everything was new. Some of the characters occur 
very rarely, others occur repeatedly on every page ; 
hence some approximation of the relative number of 
each had to be made, before the type could be cast, 
and the difficulty of this work was increased by a 
large part of them being divisible. After months of 
labour, these difficult matters were accomplished, and 
the press went into successful operation in June. 

Besides attention to the press, much of his time 
was required on behalf of the other missionaries. 
He was their general treasurer. He was in a mea- 
sure at home; they were in a strange place; their 
business affairs necessarily fell to his share, and his 
services were of much benefit to them. His corres- 
pondence with the Mission House was also very full. 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWBIE. 223 

Much to his regret, these various items greatly 
interfered with his Chinese studies. 

During this year, Mr. Lowrie prepared a series 
of articles on the history of the missionary work in 
China, with a brief account of the Jews and Chris- 
tians in China, which were published in the Chinese 
Repository. They were afterwards reprinted in the 
United States, under the title of the Land of Sinim, 
or an exposition of Isaiah xlix. 12. 

Dr. McCartee left Macao for Ningpo in June, and 
Mr. Way and his wife in August. Mr. Lloyd left 
for Amoy in November. Owing to the north-east 
monsoon, the other missionaries for Mngpo did not 
set out till the February following. 



Macao, January 18th, 1844. 

My Dear Mother — This day finishes two years 
since I left the United States. I know not how the 
time has seemed to you, but to me it appears under 
a very singular aspect. It has gone so rapidly that 
I can scarce conceive so much has really elapsed ; 
and yet it has led me through so many strange 
scenes, that I can scarcely crowd them all into it. 
I like to look back occasionally, for the immediate 
effects of all I have seen have passed away, and 
they come up before me quietly and calmly to be 
thought about. I try to look forward, but in vain, 
for I know not what a day may bring forth. I am 
just as uncertain as I was two years ago, where my 
lot shall yet be cast, or whether I shall ever find a 
" place of rest." It is not an easy thing to learn to 
live by the day, or in "patience to possess one's 
soul." I want to be moving, to be doing something, 
to see results; but my mouth is closed, and at 
present my feet are bound. Sometimes it is, " Oh, 
that I had wings like a dove, for then would I fly 
away ;" but then again the word comes, " The hus- 
bandman hath long patience." This is a trial of 



224 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

missionary life that did not at first enter much into 
my thoughts, its comparative inaction. I am busy 
as I can well be, yet my life is as quiet as it was in 
the Seminary, and I see even less of company. It 
is nearly three weeks since I have spoken to a lady, 
and it is three months since I have spent a day in 
a house with one. So we pass away. We ' are 
strangers here, at one time walking in the crowded 
streets, and at another threading the wilderness path 
alone, but ever pressing on to tne end of our course. 
Shall it be long or short? painful or pleasant? But 
these are not the questions for us to ask. It is 
ours to take no thought for the morrow. 

January 19. As clear and bright a day as it was 
two years ago, but a good deal warmer. After 
reading a page or so in the San Ko Che, or History 
of the Three States, I started off about eleven 
o'clock, with my teacher, to visit the temple of Wa- 
kok. (I wrote a description of it some time ago for 
the Foreign Missionary.) I had been there often, 
but wanted my teacher to explain some things 
which I did not understand. As you may suppose, 
I talk with him in very broken language, and can 
understand only a part of what he says, but we 
make out to talk a good deal together. I think I 
can see his respect for the superstitions of his own 
country perceptibly decreasing, though I fear that 
it is only to make way for an indifference to religion 
that is even worse. A couple of well-dressed and 
respectable-looking men were bowing and kneeling, 
lighting incense-sticks, and burning paper before the 
images. He said they were praying for wealth ; 
but "he acknowledged that the images could not hear 
them. They went to several of the images, and as 
they went to each one, an attendant struck the bell 
and the drum several times. I asked him what 
that was for? He said, to "rouse the attention of 
the idol, and make her hear !" I asked him what 
sort of gods these were, when it was necessary to 
awaken them to make them listen to their worship- 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 225 

pers ? He said, with a good deal of earnestness, "I 
don't worship these ; I worship only the spirit that 
is represented by them." However, he acknow- 
ledged that most of the people worshipped the idol. 
He then asked me, if we used no images of Jesus 
Christ. I said, no; that the Homan Catholics used 
a crucifix, but that I thought this wrong, and that 
it was folly to worship any image. "It had eyes, 
but could not see; ears, but could not hear; nose, 
but could not smell; feet, but could not walk." It 
is just so here. that he were a Christian ! He 
is a very amiable man, a man of some learning, and 
simple-minded, and might do great good if converted. 
I like him far better than any teacher I have yet 
had, and he seems very well satisfied to stay with 
me; though he does get tired sometimes, when I 
ply him with questions, and keep him sitting by me 
for three or four hours together. I told him the 
other day, that in the United States we elected our 
own Hwang Bhang and Tsung Ti*k, " Emperor and 
Viceroys." (The Chinese have no word correspond- 
ing to President and Governors.) I think I never 
saw a man so astonished. He held up both hands, 
and stared at me, and at last exclaimed, " Hi yah ! 
Astonishing ! I never heard of such a thing !" He 
said at first it was a very bad plan, for the people 
would be always fighting. ' But after I had shown 
him that in this way we secured the election of just 
officers, and men who would not oppress us, while 
their officers, according to his own acknowledgment, 
were extremely venal and extortionate, he said, 
"Well, perhaps it may be good for you, but I am 
sure it would not be possible to do so here ;" which is 
very true. It is wonderful how ignorant the Chinese 
learned men are. I believe he looks on me as a sort 
of Baron Munchausen, though I have told him very 
little that is not known to every school-boy in the 

United States 

Hoping to hear from you soon, I remain, as ever, 
Yours affectionately, W. M. Lowrie. 



226 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 



Macao, February 1st, 1844. 

My Dear Father — It seems to me, the more I 
think about the matter, that there must be a 
radical change in the literature and literary style 
of China, before it can be made the vehicle of 
permanent and extensive usefulness. A great 
deal is said of the fact, that so many in China 
can read, but it is to be feared that a great deal 
too much is expected from this. Their literature 
at present, and the style in which it is written, re- 
minds me very much of the state of Europe before 
the Reformation. There were learned men then, 
and they had a learned language, different from that 
of e very-day life, which the common people did not 
understand. This learned language was known to 
the learned all over Europe, and even some of the 
poorer class could read it, for the alphabet was the 
same in most places ; but they did not understand 
what they read, and of those who did understand, 
and wrote in the learned language, the less that is 
said the better. Who reads their writings now, or 
cares for their opinions ? A new mode of thinking, 
and speaking, and writing was introduced after the 
Reformation, and the old has disappeared. Very 
much the same revolution, in my humble judgment, 
must occur in China. They have a learned language 
here, and unless a book be written in that language, 
it has little favour. That language may be learned 
by many years of study, but it is not the language 
of the people, nor of nature. Many who can pro- 
nounce the characters do not understand them ; and 
the world will be never the worse, if nine-tenths of 
the books at present in circulation here be lost for 
ever. Some Chinese Bacon must arise, and do for 
China what Lord Yerulam did for Europe. 

I speak with a good deal of diffidence on these 
points, for I am only forming my own opinion about 
them, and others who ought to know more think 
differently. I am, however, very far from supposing 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 227 

that the Chinese styles, either of printing, or speak- 
ing, or writing, or acting, are always the most taste- 
ful, or the most convenient, or the most practically 
useful. In general I think them very much like 
their thick-soled shoes, which my teacher says " are 
very good-looking, but not so good to walk with." 
There can be no doubt of the truth of the latter 
part of this remark, while each one must judge for 
himself of the good looks. 

.... I send you my Luhan walking-stick, which 
you must take good care of, though I hope it will 
be long before you need to use it. I do not want 
to use it myself, for it might get broken or be lost, 
and therefore, for safe-keeping, I will put it in your 
hands. 

That every blessing may ever rest upon you is 
the prayer of 

Your affectionate son, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



Macao, February 10th, 1844. 

Rev. John Lloyd — My Dear John: — . . . How 
it made my heart beat to think that this year I may 
see you here ! I fell into a reverie just now, and 
thought I was walking along the beach and you 
landed. What a shaking of hands and an embra- 
cing there was ! Then I began to ask you questions ; 
but though you talked fast, you did not talk half 
fast enough to satisfy me. . . . 

Many thanks for your long, kind letter. It is 
the second I have received, and I hope I may have 
another soon. I am glad my journal gave you so 
much pleasure. 

How many things we shall have to say to each 
other when you come. Yet sometimes I fear we 
shall not be allowed to meet ; or if we meet, shall 
have to part again; and I feel as though I ought 



228 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

not to hope for too much. How often we are dis- 
appointed in the very place where we expected 
most ! I have learned some deeply painful lessons 
since I came here, though not more painful than 
needed. 

Why do you give way so much to melancholy 
forebodings ? 

" Why should the children of a king 
Go mourning all their days ?" 

Our gracious Father has now led you along for 
more than nine years, and are you still afraid to 
trust him? How much would you and I have 
given, nine years ago, to be told we should perse- 
vere till now ! yet here we are. Thus far the Lord 
hath led us on, and will not he whose hand has 
ever been around us still lead us ? Can he not 
take as much care of us hereafter, as he has hitherto 
done ? I know, would that I felt it more, that at 
best we are very unprofitable servants ; but can we 
ever repay God for his mercies ? must we not at 
last enter heaven in the righteousness of another ? 
Oh, let us look to Christ, in whom is all our strength 
and hope ; and while we labour, never forget that 
we are accepted, not in our own works, but in the 
Beloved. 

I am very well, very busy, and commonly very 
happy. Chinese is beginning to look inviting, and 
many a hearty laugh I have with my Chinese teach- 
er. He does not speak a word of English, and my 
Chinese is broken enough ; but we make out pretty 
well on a good many points. Do not be afraid of 
this language. It is hard enough, but can be learned. 

Give my kindest regards to Brown and Culbert- 
son, whom I expect to see with you before this 
year rolls away. The sooner you come the better, 
for I suppose I must be unsettled till you all come 
out, and I am getting tired of that ; so be in a 
hurry. 

It is nearly ten o'clock. My hand is so tired, 






MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 229 

that I can scarcely write legibly, and if I had five 
hundred things to say, they would have to stay 
unsaid. . . . 

Commending you to God and the word of his 
grace, which is able to build you up and keep you 
until the appearing of our Lord, I am as ever your 
brother in Christ, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



Macao, May 14th, 1844. 

My Dear Father — .... My letters to the com- 
mittee will have shown you how often I am em- 
barrassed and at a loss how to decide the various 
important questions occurring here. / wish you 
would come out here; you will find enough to call into 
exercise all your experience. You may lay the 
foundations of this mission on a better basis than we 
who are here can do. My wish is to be prudent 
and thoughtful, and to do all for the best ; but I am 
young and inexperienced, yet I have more ex- 
perience of the Chinese than any of my colleagues. 
I have no disposition to decline responsibility, and 
have frequently to take more than my share. What 
can we do ? There are things which must be done, 
and our fears are that they may not be done in the 
best way. You are not yet sixty years old, yet 
Ricci was fifty when he came to China y and you 
have had ten years of thought about this country, 
and are younger in constitution than most men of 
the same age. Your coming might do more good 
than for twenty boys to go abroad before their con- 
stitutions are settled, and who may die before they 
come to their prime. It often seems to me that we 
are commencing at the top instead of the bottom, 
when we lay light and untried materials in the foun- 
dation. If you can come for life so much the better, 
but at any rate come to? five years. Live here and 

20 



230 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

spy out the land. I have not made this request in 
a spirit of levity, but after a good deal of thought 
and prayer. I know how important your presence 
is at head-quarters, and I know you will consider 
the matter calmly. God will direct you; and for 
myself, I will remember what the old farmer said, 
"I can't go with you, but God Almighty will." 

My teacher was reading the New Testament to- 
day, when he observed, " This Jesus must have been 
a very benevolent man. How kind it was in him 
to heal those sick people, and to provide them food 
when thev were hungry ! Truly he was a good 
man." ""Yes," I observed, "he was all you say, 
and far more, for he was God as well as man, and 
came from heaven to save sinful men, and without 
him no man in the world can be saved." "What!" 
said he, " can none be saved in China without him ?" 
"No, not one." "Do you believe this?" he asked. 
"Yes, most certainly; and I have left my father 
and mother, to come to China to tell you of this 
blessed Saviour." "And how long has this been 
known to the Western nations?" "0, a great many 
hundred years." " Why, then," said he, " was not 
this knowledge sent sooner to China ?".... — A 
solemn question for every Christian. . . . 

I am your affectionate son, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



RECOLLECTIONS OF A MISSIONARY. NO. I. 

— It was a very hot day in August, 184- and I 
was lying on a couch, suffering from debility induced 
by the heat of a tropical summer. White thus re- 
clining, the physician of the place, a serious and 
moral man, but at that time making no profession 
of piety, called to see me. He said he had a patient 
recently brought from a neighbouring city, and dan- 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 231 

gerously ill of a disease at that time prevailing, who 
expressed a wish to see an evangelical clergyman; 
and that he, (the physician,) would be much pleased 
if I would call on him. I went immediately, and 
on being shown into the sick room, found a young 
looking man, who held out his hand and expressed 
much gratification that I had called. His Bible was 
Lying on a chair at his bedside, and it was not many 
minutes before he had told me fully and frankly his 
state and feelings. He was the son of a pious man, 
who had done much for the cause of missions in his 
own land. He himself had united with the Church 
in his youth, and for several years maintained a 
fair character, and thought himself a Christian. Of 
late, however, and especially since coming to this 
heathen land, he had greatly backslidden, and as he 
said, had so far forgotten his profession as to fall 
into open sin. While in this state he was attacked 
with a disease which had already proved fatal to 
several persons; and though there was at first 
nothing very alarming in his own case, yet it had 
aroused him to think on his ways, and the Spirit of 
God seemed to have brought his sins strongly to his 
remembrance. 

When I saw him he was in great distress, fearing 
lest he had committed the unpardonable sin, and. 
that there could be no hope for him. A few minutes' 
conversation showed that the instructions of his 
excellent father had sunk deep into his heart, and 
that he was tolerably well acquainted with the doc- 
trines of religion, so that it was an easy and a plea- 
sant duty to give him the instructions his case 
required. Doubtless there are those in our days 
who commit a sin for which there is no repentance, 
and for which we are not commanded to pray; but 
there was no evidence that such was his case, and 
on this point his mind was relieved. He feared, 
however, that he was not one of the elect; — could 
there be hope for him ? I told him my belief in the 
doctrine of election was as firm as my belief in my 



232 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

own existence, but God's secret decrees were not 
the rule of our faith and practice. Repent and 
believe, and be saved; let him make his calling 
sure, and the question of his election need not 
trouble his mind. To this he freely assented, and 
then with tears in his eyes, and the utmost earnest- 
ness, asked if I thought it possible God could or 
would forgive so vile a backslider as himself. 
Taking up his Bible, I opened it at the beautiful 
passage in the fourteenth chapter of Hosea : " Take 
with you words and turn unto the Lord : say unto 
him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us gra- 
ciously, &c," and read and explained the whole 
chapter. Never did it appear so rich and precious 
to my own soul, and the sick man heard it with 
entranced attention. When it was finished, he 
exclaimed, " What precious words those are ! Will 
you not pray with me ?" After prayer, and a little 
further conversation, I left him, promising to see 
him again in the evening. 

About sunset I called again, and found his dis- 
order making rapid progress, so that occasionally he 
seemed to be wandering in mind. But his thoughts 
were on his soul's concerns, and towards Christ; 
his mind was calmer than when I first saw him, and 
though he expressed much fear of death, yet he 
seemed to apprehend fully that the grace of Christ 
was his only refuge, and I could not but hope that 
his faith was fixed on the Saviour; and with a 
mind much lightened in regard to him, I returned 
to my room. The exposure and exertions of the 
day in my weak state were too much for me, and a 
sleepless night left me with but little strength in 
the morning. As the day proved stormy, it seemed 
imprudent to venture out, and accordingly I wrote 
a note to the physician, requesting him to inform 
me if his patient should wish for me, as otherwise I 
could scarcely leave the house. The kind-hearted 
physician himself had some conversation with him, 
and finding him in the intervals of his delirium, to 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 233 

be much more peaceful, and apparently hopeful, did 
not send for me. He died in the night, and when 
I called early the next morning I found him laid 
out, with an expression of countenance like one who 
had gone in peace. 

Among strangers, we buried him in a stranger's 
grave; for excepting the physician and myself, 
there were none in the place who knew him. He 
had but recently arrived in this country, and as we 
found in a day or two after, his partner died of the 
same disease on the same day. 

Soon after his death I wrote to his mother, his 
father being dead, an account of his last moments, 
and of the hope I had that " the root of the matter 
was found in him." Several months passed away, 
and amidst other events the above was almost for- 
gotten, when one day a small package from a dis- 
tant land came into my hands. It contained a beau- 
tiful copy of the Memoir of McCheyne, and a note 
breathing "the most heartfelt gratitude," and the 
assurance of "earnest and constant prayer for my 
welfare." For some reason unknown to me, the 
writer wished to be unknown ; but I could not avoid 
associating her, (for it was a lady's hand,) with the 
person spoken of above. Is it not true that bread 
cast upon the waters is found after many days — and 
that often in a way not anticipated? The parents 
of that young man "bestowed much labour" in for- 
warding the cause of missions, and the dying hours 
of their son were cheered and consoled in a strange 
land by a missionary of a different country, and a 
different denomination. I went in weakness to visit 
him, without a thought of reward, but how often 
has the thought cheered me since, that in a distant 
land there is one or more whom I have never seen, 
whose fervent prayers are offered up on my behalf ! 
20* 



234 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 



RECOLLECTIONS OF A MISSIONARY. — NO. II. 

In December, 184-, I was requested to visit a 
dying ship captain. This was Saturday evening. 
I went immediately, and on entering the house 
where he lay, found an elderly man in the last 
stages of consumption. He was a pious man, and 
amidst all the temptations and annoyances to which 
such persons in his situation are exposed, had in 

food measure kept himself free from reproach, and 
ad made his ship a house of God upon the sea. Of 
late he had been quite unwell, and was brought 
ashore to the house of the consignee of his ship, 
where it is to be feared there was little care or 
respect for religion. Being a stranger, he did not 
know there were any missionaries in the place, and 
it was not till this day that he was informed that 
there were. One of the boys from his ship was 
attending him with the faithfulness of a son; and 
finding that he was drawing near his end, informed 
him that I was residing not far off, and had me 
sent for. 

He was not able to bear much conversation : but 
the little I had was satisfactory, and he appeared 
exceedingly grateful to have met a fellow-believer 
to speak with him in his last hours. After prayer 
I left him, promising to call again. The next after- 
noon, while administering the Lord's Supper to the 
Little band of fellow-labourers, and fellow-Christians 
in that place, I received a hasty summons to see 
him. On going to the house, I found the yard just 
before his window filled with native workmen, in 
the employ of the Christian owner of the house, 
busily packing and nailing boxes for a ship's cargo ! 
Passing through the crowd, so unseemly on such a 
day, and in such a place, I went to the sick man's 
room, but found him nearly speechless. He knew 
me, grasped me by the hand, and to my inquiries 
as to the state of his soul, gave me to understand, 
though more by looks than by words, that all was 






MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 235 

well within. After a short prayer he fell into a 
doze, from which he did not again return to con- 
sciousness, and in a few hours his spirit departed. 
To him I have no reason to doubt heaven was as 
near even in that land of strangers and heathenism, 
as though he had died among his friends. The 
next day he was buried. A part of the ship's crew, 
one or two of the merchants of the place, and myself, 
were the only spectators ; and few or none of those 
who now read the inscription over his tomb, in the 
field that was " bought to bury strangers in," have 
any knowledge of the person who sleeps beneath. 
Many such graves are there, for many have come 
from far distant lands to rest there. 

"He that watereth others shall be watered him- 
self;" and in the pleasure that this event afforded 
me, I found the first mitigation of one of the greatest 
sorrows that a gracious God has ever been pleased 
to lay upon me. 

At another time I was called to visit another ship 
captain, but my memory recalls few of the circum- 
stances connected with the occasion, except the fol- 
lowing : After his decease, at his request, a sum of 
money, amounting to about twenty dollars, was put 
into my hands for any charitable purpose to which 
I might choose to apply it. On the very day it was 
received, a poor heathen woman, one of whose sons 
had been of some service to a fellow-missionary, 
came to me to beg for assistance in the case of ano- 
ther son, who was afflicted with the leprosy. She 
was in great distress : for the neighbours, apprehen- 
sive of catching the disease, had told her she must 
either place him in the hospital for such cases, or 
else leave her house, and seek another abode. She 
was poor, and knew not where else to find a house, 
and to place him in the hospital required an admis- 
sion fee of twenty dollars, a sum she could not hope 
to borrow, nor to earn for many months. It seemed 
a providence : the money just sent was at once 



236 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

placed at her disposal, and with a light heart she 
went on her way rejoicing. 

But a few weeks before leaving the place where 
I had been residing for more than two years, I was 
requested to visit another ship captain, who had 
been brought ashore with a dangerous illness, and 
was supposed to be near his end. Unlike the one 
mentioned in the first part of this paper, the owner 
of this house was seriously disposed, and had not 
only spoken faithfully to the sick man himself, but 
induced him to send for a clergyman. On being 
shown into his room, he seemed very glad to see 
me ; but I was painfully impressed with the eager- 
ness he expressed for "comfort." He was a well- 
educated, intelligent man, and had thought some for 
himself; but I was sorry to find, was quite skepti- 
cally disposed. He could not believe that mankind 
were so bad as clergymen commonly thought they 
were. He could scarcely believe that the Son of 
Grod had come down to suffer for the inhabitants of 
this petty world, which was, in the greatness of the 
universe, "but as a single leaf in the forest." Sur- 
prised at these remarks, I asked if he was not a 
believer in revelation. "Oh yes," said he; "yes, 
but sometimes these thoughts will come into my 
mind." I besought him to exchange these thoughts 
for others better suited to his situation, and after 
some further conversation and prayer, left him with 
my mind ill at ease; for all his anxieties seemed to 
be for comfort, and none for pardon and reconcilia- 
tion with God. Yet he professed much gratitude, 
and begged me to call again. I did so in a day or 
two, and found his disorder had taken a favourable 
turn, and with it his seriousness had nearly gone. 
It was difficult to induce him to speak of his soul; 
but having no reason to hope that he would recover, 
as his physician thought the disease would soon 
return, I endeavoured as faithfully as possible to 
warn him of his state and prospects. He listened 
politely, but with little interest, until a fit of cough- 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 237 

ing seized him, and I thought it best not to say 
more. I called once or twice after, but he declined 
seeing me, and the gentleman of the house with 
whom he was staying, told me that as soon as he 
began to think himself getting better, his thoughts 
returned to earthly things. Poor man ! A few 
days after this, he embarked in a vessel for his 
native land, and the next notice I had of him was, 
that he died soon after getting out to sea, and was 
buried in the ocean. 



Macao, December 27th, 1844. 
Rev. John M. Lowrie — My Dear Cousin: — 
Since April, 1843, 1 have preached in English, once 
a week, to a small congregation of English and 
Americans, some of whom are pious. It is the cus- 
tom of most of the missionaries just to take printed 
sermons and read them off, which is well known by 
the people. I have done so myself several times, 
but never liked the plan, nor felt comfortable in 
adopting it. As the people who attend are very 
intelligent, I found it required a good deal of care 
to prepare sermons that would be profitable; and 
that I could give most instruction in the fewest 
words, and with least labour to myself, by writing 
out my sermons. I have done this commonly, and 
have now nearly fifty written discourses, besides 
several skeletons. As I lost all my written sermons 
when shipwrecked, the preparation of these has been 
attended with some degree of labour, and takes as 
much time as I can at present afford to give. I felt, 
indeed, some scruple about giving so much time to 
a work no't directly the one for which I came here, 
but felt satisfied about it on considering that I am 
still young, and the labour and study of preparing 
sermons would be of essential benefit to me ; and I 
have found it so. Preaching is a very delightful 



238 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

work, and I have only regretted that I could not 
give more time to it. . . . 

It was a great disappointment to Lloyd and my- 
self not to be together, but it seemed to be clearly 
the will of Providence that we should deny ourselves 
that gratification, and it is quite uncertain whether 
we shall ever see each other again. As it was, we 
could be together less than two weeks, and in that 
time I did not learn half as much as I wanted. 
Hugh Brown, too, will go to the same station with 
Lloyd, and as Happer will be at Hong Kong, I shall 
be " a stranger in the earth." So be it! It is good 

to feel that this is not our home, nor our rest 

I am your affectionate cousin, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



Macao, December 28th, 1844. 

Rev. James Montgomery — My Dear Brother : — 
Your letter of January 15th, which came to hand 
August 6th, gave me great pleasure, for it told me 
that though you had not written, your heart was 
still unchanged. I observed one thing in it, which 
has struck me in a number of other letters I have 
received. Speaking of my shipwreck, you remark, 
that you could scarce help thinking that I was pre- 
served for some great end in this part of the world. 
The same idea has heen expressed to me by several 
other of my correspondents, and I can sometimes 
scarcely avoid thinking it may be so ; and yet the 
thought of it almost makes me tremble, for what a 
responsibility does it throw upon me, and what a 
foreshadowing, so to speak, is there in such an ex- 
pectation of great trials and conflicts ? It is through 
much tribulation we must enter into the kingdom 
of heaven. It is in the way of "much tribulation," 
that great good is commonly effected ; and if I am 
to be the instrument of good here, I cannot expect 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 239 

to avoid trials and sorrows, greater perhaps by far 
than any that have yet come upon me. I do not 
murmur' at this. If I know my own heart, I do not 
wish to shrink from any cross or any burden God 
sees good or needful to lay upon me ; but oh ! how 
much do I need grace, yea, " more grace," to fit me 
for the trials of my work here. Pray for me, that 
having done all and suffered all, I may stand 
accepted in the merits of Jesus Christ. I have had 
some little experience of tribulation since leaving 
the United States. I have known what it is to bear 
with long delays and hopes deferred, making the 
heart sick. I have gone through perils on the deep, 
and have been tried with the perversities and way- 
wardness of some who had made the warmest pro- 
fessions of attachment. 

Whither do all these things tend? Is the trial 
over yet, or am I to go through the furnace again? 
Dear brother, I confess my heart sometimes trem- 
bles when I ask myself these questions. For after 
all this sifting and searching, and refining, I still 
find so much of dross and impurity, that I sometimes 
think the furnace must be made "one seven times 
hotter," before I am fit for my work. If I have a 
work to do here, God will certainly prepare me for 
it. I do not wish to shrink from the preparation, 
but I do feel that without more grace I cannot 
endure it. Yet I dare not give way to fear. 
Hitherto the Lord hath helped me. In every trial 
hitherto, grace has been sufficient, and shall I not 
trust him for the future ? And when I look back I 
am obliged to say, that notwithstanding all the sor- 
rows I have felt since leaving the United States, no 
period of my life has been so happy as the last three 
years. As the sufferings have abounded, so have 
the consolations ; and were it not for some undefined 
anticipations of the future, I should be ashamed to 
speak of my sorrows that are past at all. . . . 
Surely it is a wonder of sovereign grace, that God 
saves any of such a sinful race as ours is ! We fight 



240 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

against him, and provoke him, even when he has 
shown us his love. 

We have now a pretty large mission here, and I 
trust will soon be settled and all at work. Cannot 
you come? I should rejoice to have you with me; 
and I can assure you that I do not think your age 
a sufficient reason for not coming, if vou^have no 
other. Farewell, pray for me, and believe me, 
Ever yours, in Christian bonds, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



CHAPTER VI. 

1845. 



Different Missions Established — Leaves Macao — Voyage up the Coast — 
Ningpo — Letters and Journals. 

During this year the missions of the Presbyterian 
Church in China began to assume a more settled 
form. In the first part of the year, the missionaries 
had all reached their respective stations, and com- 
menced their work under favourable and encouraging 
circumstances. In April, Messrs. Culbertson and 
Lowrie arrived at Ningpo, and Mr. Loomis at Ting- 
hai, on the island of Chusan; and in July the print- 
ing-press was removed to Ningpo. In May, the 
Rev. H. A. Brown reached Amoy. During the 
year, a boys' boarding-school was commenced at 
Macao, and another at Ningpo, under circumstances 
of much promise. During the summer, their num- 
ber was lessened by the return home of Dr. Hep- 
burn and his wife, on account of the failure of Mrs. 
Hepburn's health. This was a great trial to the 
mission at Amoy. Dr. Hepburn had acquired a 
knowledge of the Chinese language, and was greatly 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 241 

esteemed both by the native population and foreign 
residents. 

The missionary labours of the year at Ningpo, 
the description of the country, and the general 
aspects of this new field of labour are so fully re- 
lated in the letters and journals of this period, that 
nothing further need be added here. 

In connection with the account of the missions 
in China, it is proper to notice the Edict of the 
Emperor, dated 28th December, 1844, giving full 
toleration for the exercise of the Christian religion. 
This remarkable document is one of the great events 
of the age. It was granted at the request of M. 
Lagrene, the French ambassador, on a memorial to 
the Emperor, from Keying, the Imperial Commis- 
sioner. It gives full toleration to all who profess 
the religion of Tien Chu, or the Lord of Heaven. 
This is the term used by the Roman Catholic mis- 
sionaries to denote the Christian religion, and when 
the edict was issued, it was considered sufficiently 
comprehensive to embrace the Christian religion as 
professed by Protestants. 

By later proceedings of the civil authorities, this 
construction appeared to be erroneous. On the 2d 
of November, 1845, proclamations were issued by 
the authority of the Imperial Commissioner, and 
the Lieutenant Governor of Canton, stating "that 
the religion of the Lord of Heaven consists in peri- 
odically assembling for unitedly worshipping the 
Lord of Heaven, in respecting and venerating the 
cross, with pictures and images, as well as in read- 
ing aloud the works of said religion." 

By this explanation Protestants were excluded 
from the benefits of the edict of toleration, and 
much dissatisfaction was felt and expressed at this 
restriction. But this feeling was of short duration. 
On the 22d of December, 1845, Keying, the Impe- 
rial Commissioner, in a letter to the Consul of the 
United States, at Canton, states, "that some local 
magistrates had made improper seizures, taking and 

Ax. 



242 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

destroying crosses, pictures, and images, and after 
deliberation it was agreed that these might be re- 
verenced. Originally, I did not know that there 
were among the nations these differences in their 
religious practices. Now, with regard to the reli- 
gion of the Lord of Heaven, no matter whether the 
crosses, pictures, and images, be reverenced or not 
reverenced, all who, acting well, practise it, ought 
to be held blameless. All the great western nations 
being placed on an equal footing, only let them 
acting well practise their religion, and China will 
in no way prohibit or impede their so doing. 
Whether their customs be alike or unlike, certainly 
it is right that there should be no distinction, and 
no obstruction." 

Thus did this subject come three times before the 
civil authorities of Ohina, and the important distinc- 
tion between Protestants and Roman Catholics was 
thus brought to their notice ; and much to the credit 
of the Chinese government, all are equally protected. 



Hong Kong, February 12th, 1845. 

My Dear Father — Your very welcome letter of 
August 3Qth, came to hand last Sabbath, being the 
first I have received from you for four months, the 
longest period of not hearing, since my first letters 
reached me. It does begin to appear as if years had 
elapsed since I saw you. Letters written home and 
answers received, answers written back, and replies 
to those answers received, and soon I shall have re- 
plies to these last. 

Having finished all I had to do in Macao, I left 
that place January 21st, and came here to take pas- 
sage for Chusan. I expect to have as a fellow-pas- 
senger, the Rev. T. McClatchie, missionary of the 
Church Missionary Society, of whom I have formed 
a very good opinion. The Rev. George Smith, his 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 243 

colleague, is in very poor health, and I fear can do 
no more than visit the different ports, and then re- 
turn to England. I shall regret this exceedingly, 
for I have conceived a very high opinion of him. 
The connection of these excellent men with the 
Established Church of England, gives them much 
influence with the people from England in China; 
but at the same time it requires them to he doubly 
cautious not to give any ground of complaint against 
themselves. On this subject, however, I feel daily 
that we have reason for gratitude in our American 
citizenship, and the perfect freedom of the Church 
from all connection with the State. It is not by 
might nor by power, but by God's Spirit that our 
work is to be done. May God grant the time soon 
to come when the kingdoms of this world shall 
become the kingdoms of our Lord Jesus Christ ! 
Your affectionate son, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



THE VOYAGE UP THE COAST. 

Macao, January 19 th, 1845. 

It is three years to day since I left my father's 
house. Many changes have come over me since 
then ; trials and afflictions have befallen me, but out 
of them all the Lord hath delivered me, and having 
obtained help of Him I continue to this day. For 
nearly two years I have been preaching to a small 
congregation of English and Americans, once every 
Sabbath. To-day I preached my last sermon to 
them, and bade them farewell. How many of them 
shall I meet in peace at the great day of reckoning ? 
As far as they are concerned at least, I feel myself 
pure from their blood. I have not shunned to de- 
clare unto them the whole counsel of God. And to 



244 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

some at least it has been a blessing; would that the 
same could be said of all ! 

January 21st, 1845. I bade farewell to Macao, 
and turned my face to the north. It was not with- 
out apprehensions that I contemplated another voy- 
age, and that against the strong north-east monsoon ; 
for nearly every voyage I have made since arriving 
in China has been attended with disaster, and not a 
few of my friends shook their heads ominously when 
I spoke of tempting the sea again. Yet the path 
of duty seemed clear. Nothing further of any con- 
sequence remained for me to do in Macao, and it 
was desirable, on several accounts, that I should as 
speedily as possible proceed to Mngpo. Com- 
mitting my way, therefore, to that God who had 
heretofore led me, even through the deep waters, 
and preserved me in the most imminent perils, and 
led me by paths that I knew not, I left Macao, a 
place that had become endeared to me by many 
associations and recollections. 

It was far from my intention to have spent so 
long a time in Macao; but various intimations of 
Providence had kept me there nearly two years and 
a half. How many events have occurred in that 
time ! When I arrived, there was war between 
England and China, and most men thought it would 
be of long continuance. Yet in a few months the 
war was ended, a treaty of peace was negotiated, 
and five ports in China were thrown open to 
foreigners. Extravagant hopes began to fill men's 
minds, and many expectations were indulged, which 
have not been realized. When the supplementary 
treaty was signed, (Oct. 8th, 1843,) boasts long and 
loud were uttered, and hopes rose yet higher. But 
had men been wise and studied God's law and pro- 
vidence, they must have seen there was reason to 
fear that treaty could not prosper. The Christian 
Plenipotentiary who negotiated it, agreed to the pro- 
posal of a heathen statesman, and signed it on the 
Lord's day ! There was all the parade and circum- 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 245 

stance of military pomp, and men in their joy forgot 
that there is a God who will not suffer his law to be 
violated with impunity. This treaty, far less than 
the treaty of Nanking, has satisfied the expectations 
at first formed. Rather it has bitterly disappointed 
them, for some of its clauses have nearly crushed 
the commercial importance of Hong Kong. 

What changes and accessions in our own mission ! 
I have seen McBryde go home, and have welcomed 
here, Hepburn and Cole, and McCartee and Way, 
and Loomis and Lloyd, and Culbertson and Happer. 
Several of them are already settled in their ap- 
pointed stations, and now our Chinese mission, after 
various fluctuations, wears a more settled and pro- 
mising aspect, than at any former time. 

What changes in the other missions ! Mrs. Boone 
and Mrs. Dean, Mr. Dyer, Mr. Morrison,* Mrs. 
Ball and Mrs. Shuck, have gone to their reward. 
Some have gone home on visits, one no more to 
return. Others have come in their places. More 
than half the missionaries now in China have arrived 
within the last three years, though of these several 
had been labouring in other parts for the Chinese. 
It has been a time of breaking up and settling down 
again; but like the sea whose waters heave, even 
when the storm has died away, there is a heaving 
and a motion yet. What shall the end of these 
things be? Little do we know, and still less can 
we foresee, but "the Lord reigneth, let the earth 
rejoice." Whatever changes may occur, all shall 
accomplish good. "I will overturn and overturn 
and overturn, until he come, whose right it is : and 
I will give it him." — Ezek. xxi. 27. 

Comparatively few vessels sail for the northern 
ports of China during the N. E. monsoon, and I was 
detained nearly a month in Hong Kong. Yet the 
delay, though tedious, was not unpleasant, for there 

* Although Mr. Morrison was not a missionary himself, he was one of 
our warmest friends, and his death was as much a loss to the mission- 
aries, as to any other class in China. 
21"* 



246 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

were many friends there, and letters from home 
brought me cheering news. At length I succeeded 
in getting a berth on board the Rob Roy. She is 
a clipper bark, built in Calcutta, to trade between 
India and China. The captain and mates are 
English, and her crew a motley mixture of Bengalis, 
Malays, Manilla men, with one or two Arabs, two 
Chinese, and a Portuguese from Goa, who is the 
blackest man on board. 

I regretted much that the vessel sailed to-day, 
which is the Sabbath, but this I could not prevent ; 
all my baggage of course was put on board yesterday, 
and had she sailed early in the morning, I should 
have slept on board. But knowing that there 
would be much bustle and confusion, I thought I 
could spend the Sabbath morning more profitably 
on shore. Got a note from the captain, saying she 
would leave anchorage at eleven, a. m. ; so about ten 
I bade my kind friends farewell, and came on board. 
It looks but little like the Sabbath here. The men 
were washing the decks, officers busy, merchants 
and clerks from the town on board, and altogether 
it was far, far. from pleasant. Shortly after eleven 
we started, but were detained nearly two hours in 
getting out of the harbour, by the consignees not 
having all the papers ready. How little of the Sab- 
bath was kept by the consignees, officers, and sixty- 
three Lascars and other persons concerned in the 
sailing of this single vessel ! 

We left Hong Kong on the 16th of February, 
with a fair wind, which carried us out of the harbour, 
but it soon fell calm, and then we had the N. E. 
monsoon directly in our teeth. Our vessel is a 
very fast sailer, and consequently in " beating pas- 
sages," very wet, and her deck was seldom dry. 
On the 18th we passed immense numbers of fishing- 
boats; I counted one hundred and ninety-five at 
one time in sight, and that was not nearly all. We 
kept close along the Chinese coast for several days, 
beating against the wind, and making tolerably good 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 247 

progress. After reaching Breaker Point, we stretched 
across the Formosa Channel. The wind was strong, 
and the sea high, and for two or three days we were 
uncomfortable enough. In eight days after leaving 
the port, we saw the high land on the southern end 
of Formosa. This large and populous island, which 
may be called the granary of some of the eastern 
provinces of China, is as yet without the presence 
of any missionary, either Protestant or Roman Cath- 
olic. The western part is under the dominion of 
the Emperor of China, but the inhabitants of the 
mountains in the centre have not been subdued, and 
the eastern shore is almost unknown. 

We were so much favoured in the first part of 
our voyage that we reached the latitude of the Chu- 
san islands in sixteen days, which at this season of 
the year is a very quick run; but the remainder of 
our voyage was not so speedy. We had then less 
than two hundred miles further to go, but a suc- 
cession of baffling head winds caused us to spend a 
whole week in going that short distance. It was 
not till Tuesday, March 11, that we cast anchor at 
Woosung, twenty-three days after leaving Hong 
Kong. In the favourable monsoon the voyage is 
made with ease in less than ten days. It was a 
very rough voyage, and except in urgent cases 
should not be attempted, especially by females. 
The roughness of the passage renders it nearly im- 
possible to spend one's time profitably, and three or 
four weeks, or even five, for the voyage is often 
that long, is too much time to be thrown away. 
There is also all the risk, which is not small, and 
the exposure, which, coming from the warm latitude 
of Canton, to the colder climate of the north, is not 
a little disagreeable. Yet men of the world submit 
to all this, and much more, for the sake of earthly 
riches, and the missionary should not hesitate to do 
the same, when the great object of his life can be 
gained by the sacrifice of some personal ease or 
comfort. 



248 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

Most persons dislike the sea, and it is common 
to speak of the monotony and tedium of long voy- 
ages. There is little to be seen that is new after 
the first few days, and without caution and watch- 
fulness, one is apt to become impatient and fretful. 
Yet with due care, it need not be so. The best of 
all expedients to make the time pass pleasantly, is to 
have something to do, and to do it. It requires 
some resolution to keep one's self constantly em- 
ployed, but the exertion is amply repaid. And 
there is much, even amidst the sameness of sea life, 
that is deeply instructive. God has so ordered all 
things in nature, that they form a constant com- 
mentary and illustration of invisible and eternal 
things. That more of such analogies can be traced 
in the sailor's life than in any other I will not pre- 
sume to say, but I have often been surprised, and 
oftener still instructed as well as gratified, with the 
illustrations of the Christian's course which the voy- 
age of a ship affords. The various changes of the 
weather, now calm and sun-shiny; now stormy and 
dark ; now rapidly speeding on with prosperous 
breezes, and anon, painfully labouring against the 
wind ; who has not felt such changes as these in his 
Christian course? — The unceasing diligence of all 
concerned, especially the captain and officers, their 
constant study of the charts and books of directions, 
and their anxiety to secure observations of the sun 
and stars, that they may know their daily progress 
and position; who does not recognize in this the 
duty of the Christian to study carefully the great 
chart and book which God has given to direct us on 
our way, and by earnest looking upward, to gain wis- 
dom from on high to lead our steps ? — The constant 
look-out for danger, and the anxiety to avoid hidden 
shoals, to mark the progress and direction of the 
currents, and to take advantage of every wind 
that blows ; how often have they reproved me for 
being so careless of danger, and so negligent where 
Christ said, " Watch !" and so indifferent to the 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 249 

Spirit's influences, which, "like the wind," must 
waft the soul to heaven. When the ship has 
dropped her anchor in the port, universal joy pos- 
sesses every heart. The dangers and watchings 
and fatigues of the voyage are over, the rewards of 
labour are now to be enjoyed, and the quietness and 
peace of home to repay the toils and perils that are 
past. " They are glad because they are quiet, and 
because they are brought to their desired haven," 
but how much more real and satisfying is the 
Christian's joy, when he enters the haven of rest, 
his home in the skies ! There " there is no more 
sea." 

The entrance of the great river Yang-tsze Keang 
{child of the ocean) is rather difficult, especially to 
vessels drawing much water. So much earth is 
brought down by this immense stream, and deposited 
in the sea, that the water is quite shallow for many 
miles, and a vessel is in danger of running aground 
long before the land is seen. The coasts of China 
in this latitude are low, and perfectly level, and the 
land can scarcely be seen more than ten miles off. 
The strength of the tides is also very great, and 
several vessels have already been lost on the sands 
and rocks off the entrance of the river. Until light- 
houses are erected, and buoys properly placed, more 
than ordinary caution will be required of the offi- 
cers of vessels visiting Shanghai. 

After entering, the river, the course is north-west, 
to Woosung. Entering the Woosung river, the 
course is south-west, about fourteen miles to Shang- 
hai. 

The whole country for many miles around the 
city is a perfect plain, having only sufficient eleva- 
tion and depression to carry off the water. There 
is not a single hill within twenty miles of Shanghai, 
which of course, renders the appearance of the coun- 
try uninteresting. The soil, however, is rich and 
productive, and excepting the space occupied by the 
graves ; is in a high state of cultivation. There are 



250 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

no stones, nor even small pebbles, for in a trip of 
some twenty miles along the Woosung river, not a 
stone was to be seen, except such as had been 
brought from a distance. Farm houses and small 
villages dot the country in every direction, and 
clumps of bamboos, with orchards of peaches 
and plum trees, and willows by the water-courses, 
relieve the sameness of the ground. Two crops, 
one of wheat, and the other of cotton, are raised 
every year, and in some parts a third crop of rice is 
also procured. Rice, however, is not so much cul- 
tivated here as in the more southern parts of China, 
and as there are few paddy fields near the city, the 
ground is not so marshy as to render it unhealthy. 
The city of Shanghai is pleasantly situated at 
the junction of the Woosung and Hwangpoo rivers. 
It is of a circular form, surrounded by walls, about 
fifteen feet high, and nearly four miles in circum- 
ference. The suburbs near the rivers are thickly 
inhabited, and the population is estimated at about 
two hundred thousand inhabitants. By the Woo- 
sung river it is connected with the city of Soochow, 
the capital of the province, and one of the most 
luxurious and wealthy in the empire, and also with 
the Grrand Canal which reaches to Peking. Hence 
its situation is one of great importance, and its trade 
is immense. Rows of junks are moored for nearly 
two miles along the bank of the Hwangpoo, on the 
east of the city, and vessels are constantly arriving 
and departing. Already it is attracting a large 
share of foreign commerce, and many suppose that 
it will soon rival, if not surpass Canton, as a place 
for foreign trade. Sixty-five foreign vessels have 
already entered the port, though it is but a year 
and a half since business commenced to be done 
there. The great tea and silk districts of China are 
nearer to Shanghai than to Canton, and if proper 
encouragement be held out, a large part of those 
articles which were formerly carried at great ex- 



MEMOIR OP WALTER M. LOWRIE. 251 

pense to the latter place, will find their way either 
to Shanghai or Ningpo. 

Every foreigner who has visited this place, gives 
the inhabitants a much better character than those 
of Canton. They are rather taller, of a more ruddy 
complexion, and much more civil and well-disposed 
than their southern countrymen. In passing through 
the streets one is rarely insulted, and the opprobri- 
ous epithets so common in Canton and Macao are 
scarcely ever heard here. 

The Roman Catholics once had a strong footing 
in Shanghai. Paul Siu, an officer of the highest 
rank, and his daughter Candida, who were the two 
most powerful and liberal friends the Jesuits ever 
possessed in China, were natives of this city, and 
several monuments to his memory are still found 
within the walls. In one place, the heathen descen- 
dants of Siu offer incense to his image. One of the 
idol temples in the city was formerly a chapel of the 
Roman Catholics, and is even now commonly called 
the " Teen-choo-tang," or u Hall of the Lord of Hea- 
ven," the name they give their places of worship in 
China. There are many Roman Catholic converts 
in the province of Keang-su, and several foreign 
priests, who dress in Chinese clothes, and live as 
the Chinese do. The R. C. Bishop of Keang-nan 
and Shantung, an Italian, and a nephew of the Pope, 
by the way, resides within five miles of Shanghai. 

Saturday, 30th March, 1845. Left Shanghai on 
yesterday, and reached Woosung to-day about eleven 
o'clock. I went ashore, and strolled up the banks 
of the Yang-tsze Keang about three miles. The 
river is so wide, you cannot see the other bank. 
The country being very low, high embankments are 
raised to protect the land from the high tides. The 
embankment along the Yang-tsze Keang, is faced 
with solid masonry four feet thick and about fifteen 
feet high, for several miles — how far exactly I can- 
not say, but as far as I went or could see, it was so. 
The termination of my walk was the little city of 



252 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

Paouhau, which is walled and has four gates. The 
city is square, the circuit of the walls very little 
more than a mile, and nearly all the houses are 
ranged along the two streets that extend from the 
gates and intersect in the centre of the town. The 
rest of the space within the walls is occupied by 
gardens. I should not think the population was 
more than two thousand. The houses outside the 
walls were larger and more numerous than those 
within. I went right through the town, then out 
at the same gate, a crowd of boys at my heels, then 
half round the walls, and then back to the ship. 

Tuesday, April 1st. About eleven o'clock in the 
morning, cast anchor in Chusan harbour, and my joy 
at finding myself safe at my journey's end, was only 
equalled by that of finding the Isabella Ann with 
Loomis and Culbertson safe on board. She arrived 
on Saturday, after a thirty-eight days' passage, 
which, from the accounts they have given me, was 
not only very unpleasant, but even dangerous ; but 
we are all safe here. Thanks to God, who holds the 
winds and directs the storms. 

In the day-time went through the city of Tinghai. 
Loomis and his wife remain here for the present. 
The Culbertsons go to Ningpo to-morrow. I shall 
remain several days and go to Ningpo early next 
week. 

Tinghai is in the centre of a large valley, with 
high hills on three sides. At this time the valley 
is all green and yellow with crops of beans, barley, 
and cabbage in flower, and looks very well. _ The 
streets are, I think, cleaner than is usual in Chinese 
towns. In the evening I walked with Loomis and 
Culbertson over the little island just opposite Ting- 
hai ; a splendid view from the top ; quite delighted to 
find some blue and white violets growing on the hill. 

Wednesday, April 2d. Went to the Isabella Ann 
to see about my freight. Found my mattress was 
missing, and several boxes of my books wet. Had 
not time to open them, but shall doubtless find them 



MEMOIR OP WALTER M. LOWRIE. 253 

much spoiled. The Rob Roy being so full, I could 
not bring them in her, and had to send them by the 
other. Mr. Bates, an American merchant, the only 
American here, has very kindly offered me a room 
while I stay here. 

Thursday, April 3d. I had my boxes from the 
Isabella Ann taken to Mr. Loomis's house, and as 
they had got wet on board the ship, I had serious 
misgivings about their condition. I opened them 
to-day ; but, oh, what a mess ! My books, my no- 
ble books, on which I prided myself so much ; some 
were utterly ruined, more than half are seriously 
injured, three-fourths are greatly defaced, and not 
one-fourth have escaped without some damage. Five 
hundred dollars would not replace the injury they 
have suffered. 

The mate of the vessel who stowed them away, 
" thought they were spirits of wine," and put them 
in the part of the vessel where such articles are 
kept, where, if water should come, no harm is done ! 
I fancy he had some spirits in his head when he 
thought so. Well, there was no use of crying, or 
scolding, or fretting; so I did not lose my temper. 
I only wished I had not brought so many ; but as 
wishing was of no avail, I commenced to rub and 
air them. I got two Chinese to help me. They 
will be a pitiable sight when all is done. 

Friday, April 4th. A wet, rainy forenoon. 
Went to Loomis's house, and spent several hours 
among my damaged books. Alas ! alas ! 

Thursday, April 10th. Packed up my books, or 
at least part of them, to take to Ningpo. About 
two hundred volumes were in such a state that I 
must leave them here for a while, and some fifty or 
more are about useless. " Three removes are as bad 
as a fire 1" 

Left Chusan at half-past nine, a. m., with fair tide 
but light wind. Chartered a native boat, and took 
most of my goods and chattels, making twenty-one 
packages m all; paid three dollars tor the boat. 

22 



254 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

which is about one-third of what I should have had 
to pay in Macao. There were only a few passen- 
gers, as I told the owner he must not crowd the 
boat. Among the passengers were two inhabitants 
of the mainland from near Chinhai, a farmer, a Bud- 
hist priest, and a Fuhkeen merchant, decidedly the 
most intelligent of the whole. There were several 
others, but I saw none of them except one, who 
came to me once with his breath smelling so strong 
of opium, that I gave him a lecture thereupon. 

Friday, April 11th. Breakfast at eight o'clock. 
After prayers I soon found Dr. McCartee, who is 
living in a monastery. Then took a walk through 
the city, admired the straightness and width and 
comparative cleanness of the streets, and afterwards 
went to the Pagoda, or Tower of Ningpo, an im- 
mense tall tower, a hundred feet or more in height. 
Vast numbers of swallows have built their nests in 
holes in the walls. Going up to the top, I enjoyed 
a magnificent view of the country around. Ningpo 
is in a vast plain, a perfect level; but high hills are 
in sight on all sides but one. The plain is so level 
that the hills look quite near, but they are really 
from fifteen to eighteen miles distant. 

At six o'clock, p. m., took a walk with Way and 
Culbertson, and their wives. There are but few 
houses in this part of the suburbs, and we walked 
about perfectly unembarrassed with people. The 
vegetation is very luxuriant here. Saw several 
tombs erected in the time of the Ming Dynasty; 
there was first a pair of stone rams ; then of dogs ; 
then of horses saddled and bridled ; then of monks ; 
and then of tombs. I have seen many of them at 
Shanghai. 

April 14th, 1845. After a visit to the city, we 
sailed some distance up the north branch of the river, 
whose course is quite crooked a short distance above 
the North Gate. At the distance of twelve le* we 
passed a large distillery, known by the usual sign 

* Three U are about one mile. 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 255 

of a tall pole, with a small round bamboo sieve near 
the top, and a small flag above it. Passing three le 
further, we went ashore at a temple where the keeper 
received us full civilly, and gave us tea to drink. 
The temple contained nothing of interest, but we 
were amused in watching a boat as it passed over a 
sluice. As the tide rises and falls several feet in 
the river, the small streams and canals that empty 
into it would be nearly useless at low water. To 
prevent this, they are all dammed up at the mouth, 
and thus the water is made to stand always at nearly 
the same level, so that they are always useful for 
irrigation and navigation. To enable boats to enter 
the river, and come back into the canals, the dam is 
rounded off, and by means of two rude capsterns 
and bamboo ropes, the boats are hauled up to the 
top of the dam. It consists simply of mud, beaten 
smooth and hard, and rendered slippery by pouring 
a little water over it. As soon as the boats are 
once at the top, their own weight carries them down 
the other side, and they enter the river like a ship 
launched from the stocks. Each sluice is attended 
by two men and several boys, and it requires but a 
minute or two to pass a boat in either direction. 
By these economical locks there is no loss of water, 
and the wear of the flat-bottomed boats is small. 
The toll for passing these sluices varies from five to 
eight cents, according to the size of the boat. 

18th. Took up my quarters at the Yu shing 
kwan monastery, belonging to the Taou sect, which 
is situated just within the north gate of the city. 
There are, in all, five monks, in the establishment. 
As soon as my baggage was brought in, the old 
abbot sent in a wooden waiter with a pile .of sponge 
cakes, and four cups of tea, together with a red 
card, on the top of which was written " Congratula- 
tions," and beneath, " The resident supporter of the 
Yu shing kwan monastery. Hwang che hwuy bows 
his head and worships." A small present was sent 
back in return. 



256 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

In the morning, had an opportunity of seeing a 
" small foot" uncovered. One of the female patients 
had some disease, which made it necessary to take 
the bandages off the foot, a thing they are commonly 
unwilling to do before strangers. The sight was by 
no means pleasant. All the toes except the largest 
were turned under the sole of the foot; the instep 
was greatly elevated, and the hollow between the 
heel and the ball of the foot much deeper than in 
the natural state. All the women here, excepting 
the nuns, have their feet thus unnaturally com- 
pressed, and in consequence, you never see a woman 
able to walk with even tolerable ease and grace. 
They all go hobbling about like cripples, and fre- 
quently have to depend upon an umbrella, or the 
shoulder of a female attendant whose feet are not 
quite so cruelly hampered as their own, to support 
tneir steps. 

For several days past, green peas in abundance 
have been sold in the markets. 

19 th. Went to the Hwuy-Hwuy Tang, or Mo- 
hammedan Mosque. The keepers of the building 
were from Shantung; and one old woman spoke 
Mandarin beautifully. (The purest Mandarine dia- 
lect is poken in Shantung.) The mosque is a small 
building, with many Arabic incriptions, and we were 
informed that there are some five hundred Moham- 
medans in Ningpo. They have a larger mosque, and 
more numerous population in Hangchou, the capital 
of this province. There was formerly a Jewish 
synagogue in Ningpo, as well as one in Hangchou, 
but no traces of them are now discoverable, and the 
only Jews known to exist in China, are in Kaifung 
foo, the capital of Honan. 

20th. Preached this morning to the largest con- 
gregation of foreigners that has yet met in Ningpo, 
sixteen persons in all. 

21st. Dr. McCartee having occasion to go to 
Chusan to-day, I am left alone in the monastery; 
but a smattering of Mandarin, of which the people 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 257 

all understand a little, enables me to get along with- 
out difficulty. Dr. McCartee has three boys under 
his care, the two elder of whom are very interesting 
and affectionate ; and his teacher is a kind-hearted, 
excellent man, " almost persuaded to be a Christian." 
We have prayers morning and evening in Chinese, 
when the teacher reads and explains a chapter in 
Chinese, and repeats or reads a prayer ; after which 
we have a prayer in English. A-chang, the second 
boy, was greatly delighted with my barometer, and 
repeated several times, " Heaou teh fung ! heaou teh 
yu !" " It understands the wind ! It understands 
the rain !" and finally, he declared there was nothing 
so admirable in all Ningpo. 

23d. Arranging my rooms, and putting my clock 
up. Got a servant to-day, who seems to be a very 
simple-hearted, good sort of a fellow, and who looked 
with unbounded admiration at the clock. Seeing 
one of the monks, he called out to him, "Here is a 
clock !" It has been a great object of admiration 
all day. 

25th. Along with Dr. McCartee., and Messrs. 
Way and Culbertson, went out several miles into 
the country to see a patient of the Doctor's, who is 
confined with a broken leg. The country is inter- 
sected with innumerable canals, which supply the 
place of high roads in other countries. Much 
ground is also covered with tombs, so that the com- 
mon saying, that the Chinese use no ground for 
tombs which can be cultivated, is incorrect. In the 
south, where barren hills abound, and only the val- 
leys are fit for cultivation, the remark is true; but 
about Shanghai, Chusan, and Mngpo, it is not. 

The canals are full of fish : to catch them, bam- 
boo fences are staked across them in numerous 
places, with only an opening for boats. The open- 
ing itself is staked with flexible reed, which allow 
the water to pass through, and boats to pass over, 
but effectually prevent the fish. Commonly, the 
fences are formed into a kind of labyrinth, so that 



258 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

when the fish are driven to them, they enter a trap, 
from which it is difficult to escape, and they are 
then scooped up with a small hand-net. The ap- 
pearance of the country is very beautiful; crops of 
wheat and barley nearly ready for the reaper, 
patches of clover, beds of rice for transplanting, 
young fields of reeds for mats, (a very important 
part of the trade of Ningpo,) water-wheels, worked 
by buffaloes or men, the latter sort somewhat on the 
principle of the tread-mill, a few water buffaloes and 
oxen, quiet farm-houses and numerous villages, with 
some old trees, form a picture of great beauty. Oh ! 
that this were indeed Immanuel's land ! that those 
whom we meet were partakers of the same faith 
and hope with us ! " How long, Lord ! Return 
and visit these long desolations !" 

30th. Invited to a Chinese dinner. The dishes 
were brought in bowls, everything being cut up, and 
ready for use. Each guest was provided with a 
small wine-cup, a spoon, and a pair of chop-sticks. 
The guests were Dr. McCartee and his teacher, the 
old abbot and one of the monks from the monastery, 
and myself. The dishes were: — stewed chicken, 
cold goose, duck and bamboo-sprouts, pork, fish, 
cherries, water-chestnuts, pea-nuts, soup, beche de- 
mer, ginger, preserved eggs, spinage, and rice and 
tea to close with; besides, hot spirits distilled from 
rice. It was my first effort with chop-sticks, which 
are awkward enough at first, especially when you 
try to take up a hard-boiled egg. Several of the 
dishes were very palatable, but one or two of the 
customs were not particularly pleasant, e. g., the 
old abbot, after putting his chop-sticks several times 
into his mouth, picked out a tempting piece of goose, 
and offered it to me with the same sticks. _ I begged 
to be excused, though it is a mark of polite atten- 
tion to make such an offer ; also a wet cloth was 
handed round after dinner to wipe the fingers and 
mouth, the same cloth for all. 

May 3. In the afternoon a respectable and in- 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 259 

teresting-looking Chinese came to the Yu shing kwan 
temple to perform some ceremonies on the sixth 
birth-day of his son. The little fellow was dressed 
in his best clothes, and seemed to enjoy the whole 
affair. His father had brought gilt paper, printed 
prayers, and a large number of bowls full of various 
meats, rice, vegetables, nuts, cups of wine, and the 
like, which were spread out before the idols. The 
ceremonies were performed in the apartment of the 
Toiv-moo, or Bushel Mother, who has special charge 
of young people, both before and after birth. The 
old' abbot clothed himself in a scarlet robe, with a 
gilt image of a serpent fastened in his hair. One 
of the monks wore a purple, and another an ash- 
coloured robe. A multitude of prayers, seemingly 
little else than a round of repetitions, were read by 
the abbot. Occasionally he chanted a little, when 
the attendants joined in chorus, and every few min- 
utes a deafening clamour of bells, cymbals, and hol- 
low blocks of wood, was raised. Genuflexions and 
prostrations innumerable accompanied the whole 
ceremony. The most singular part was the passing 
of a live cock through a barrel which had both ends 
knocked out. This was done several times by two 
assistants, who shouted some strange words at each 
repetition of the ceremony. The meaning, as I 
was afterwards told, was something like this: 
Prayers had been offered to the idol that the child 
might escape certain dangers through which he must 
pass ; and each passing of the cock through the bar- 
rel was intended to symbolize his passing safely 
through one of these perils. It was a melancholy 
sight. In conclusion, some of the prayers were 
burnt, a cup of wine poured out as a libation, and a 
grand chorus of bell, and gong, and drum, and 
blocks, closed the scene. 

May 14. A wet, rainy day. In the evening 
Dr. McCartee was called m a great hurry to see a 
man who had poisoned himself by taking opium. 
On going to the house, found the family in much 



260 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

alarm. The man was in bed, looking very stupid, 
and his wife attending him with some appearance of 
anxiety and care. He had had a quarrel with his 
mother-in-law, and in revenge attempted to make 
away with himself by taking opium. There was, 
however, some reason to suppose that it was partly 
a feint to frighten the old woman, and after an emetic 
being given, we came away. The Chinese have but 
little to deter them from the commission of suicide, 
for they have very faint ideas of a future state, or 
of punishment beyond the grave. 

May 17. A great Hwuy, or festival of Too-shin, 
all the gods, has been celebrated for the last day or 
two. Saw a part of the procession to-day, though 
the narrow crowded streets gave but a poor oppor- 
tunity of seeing the different parts. There were 
innumerable lanterns, three or four gaily ornamented 
dragons, a boat, several chairs, idols, little boys car- 
ried on men's shoulders, and various other sights. 
The most interesting were several gaily dressed 
girls, who seemed to be standing on almost nothing 
at all. One girl standing on a chariot, carried a 
branch of a tree carelessly on her shoulder : on one 
of the twigs of the branch stood a little girl, on one 
foot, with the other in the air. Another girl held 
up in her hand a plate of cakes, and a smaller girl 
stood with one foot on the cakes, and was thus borne 
along. Of course all this was done by means of 
iron or brass supporters around their bodies. The 
crowd of people was immense, and numerous police- 
men seemed to be busy, or rather to make themselves 
busy, for I never saw so large a crowd, and so little 
disorder. 

It was a curious sight to look over the crowd and 
see the forest of pipe-stems. Nearly everybody 
carries a pipe with a stem from two to four feet long, 
and when held up to keep them out of harm's way, 
they looked like a forest of small sticks, or perhaps 
like a cane-brake stripped of its leaves. 

May 27. It is amusing to observe the commo- 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 261 

tion excited by the appearance of a foreigner in the 
retired parts of the city, where few have yet wan- 
dered. Every one cries out, "Hung ma nying! 
hung ma nying !" a red-haired man ! a red-haired 
man ! this being the name for ail foreigners. The 
women and children scatter in all directions; the 
men stare and gaze, or pass their comments, as the 
fancy strikes them. It is melancholy to witness the 
fear of foreigners that still exists, especially on the 
part of the women and children. Some of the men 
look as if they would be glad to hide, and if you 
look at them, seem ready to sink into the ground. 
Commonly, however, this fear is giving way to 
curiosity; and nothing is more common than for 
those who see the stranger to beckon to the women 
to come and have a look also. One little boy, in 
his haste to do this, dropped his basket, overturned 
his playfellow, and running to the door, clapped his 
hands and called out, "Here's a red-haired man! 
come ! quick, quick !" The titles they give, and the 
remarks they make, are sometimes amusing, and 
sometimes provoking. " Mantele !" for mandarin. 
" Wailo fuhke, wailo !" Be off with you ! " Lailo !" 
Come here. "Hung ma nying!" are the common 
terms; and sometimes "Pah kwei," and "Kwei 
tsz," white devil, and devil's child! Some few, on the 
other hand, are polite enough to say, " Hungma seen 
saung," foreign teacher; and the beggars say, 
"Hungma laou yay," foreign esquire. 

The sun is sometimes called Kin woo, or "golden 
crow," from its spots, which are thought to be crows ; 
and the moon is called the Yuh too, or "jewelled 
hare," because they say a hare is distinctly seen in 
it. Hence, in poetical style, the setting of the sun 
and rising of the moon is expressed by " The golden 
crow sank in the west, and the jewelled hare arose 
in the east." 

May 29. Went out with Dr. McCartee several 
miles into the country, by water of course. Stopped 
at a small village, and went into a temple, when a 



262 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

crowd soon came round us, and notice being given 
that Dr. McCartee would prescribe for the sick 
gratuitously, a number of patients applied for medi- 
cine and advice. After this Dr. McCartee and his 
teacher both spoke to the people on religion, and 
were listened to with good attention. Tracts were 
then given to the eager crowd, and we took our 
departure, much gratified with our visit and the 
behaviour of the people. 

Returning, saw a large house in the western 
suburb on fire. It seemed to be the family man- 
sion of some wealthy person; but the Chinese have 
little skill in putting out fires, and the owners were 
removing their furniture, and leaving the house to 
its fate. The Cheheen (mayor of the city) and 
several other military and civil officers, were speedily 
on the ground with their retainers. Being tired and 
hungry, we did not stop to see the end, but were 
informed that by breaking down parts of the ad- 
joining houses, the flames were prevented from 
spreading. 

May 30. Spent part of the day in visiting ac- 
quaintances among the Chinese, then went to the 
house of a Mr. Lin, to see his garden, which is 
spoken of as very fine ; but were rather disappointed, 
as it had nothing remarkable in it. While in the 
garden Mr. Lin came out to see us, and politely 
took us over his house, which is large, airy, and 
w T ell furnished. He had some six or eight large 
clocks of European manufacture, but all out of order, 
with numerous beautiful scrolls of writing and paint- 
ing. His father left him a fortune of some three 
hundred thousand taels, (over four hundred thou- 
sand dollars,) but his extravagance has diminished 
it to one hundred thousand. He smokes opium 
freely, and looks sallow and thin. Some friends 
were with him at the time, and he had an opium 
pipe, and lamp burning in the room to which he led 
us. This opium is the curse of China. It is drain- 
ing out their money from the land, sucking the 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 263 

heart's blood of their industry, and destroying the 
constitutions and the lives of their people. 

June 3, 1845. On Saturday, May 31st, Dr. 
McCartee was called to see a woman in the country, 
who had poisoned herself by taking opium, but sho 
was dead before he arrived. It seems she was the 
concubine, or second wife, and had a quarrel with 
the first wife, which led to her destroying herself. 
This evening, another case of poisoning occurred but 
a few doors from our residence. In this case he 
was in time, and some sulphate of zinc soon relieved 
the man's stomach. The cause was a quarrel with 
some of the neighbours. 

Yesterday and to-day have been wet and cold. 
Thermometer down to 64 deg., which is eighteen 
degrees lower than it was the day before. 

June 5. Reading in the Kea Paou, or " Family 
Jewels," I came across the following sentences, which 
are rather remarkable. " If your parents treat you 
with unkindness, or even do what is wrong, you 
must still, with the utmost quietness, submit. And 
if they will not hear your attempts to correct their 
errors, you must not become angry, and scold them ; 
but bear it in silence. For, remember, that below 
the skies, there is not such a thing as a father or 
mother that does wrong. Your father is heaven, 
and your mother is earth, and where is the man that 
dares to contend with heaven and earth? Is it 
right to do so ? Therefore, it was well said, by an 
ancient sage, ' Although a father should ill-treat his 
son, yet must not the son cease his filial obedience.' " 
The following sentence is equally remarkable : " Let 
not your love for your wife and children prevent 
your paying all due respect to your parents. Should 
your wife and children die, you may yet procure 
others ; but if your father and mother depart, whence 
will you replace them?" Kea Paou, vol. i. p. 6. 
The sentiment of this last line must remind the 
student of history, of the saying ascribed to a Per- 
sian lady, whose whole family had been condemned 



264 MEMOIR OP WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

to death. The monarch, permitting her to save the 
life of any one she chose, she selected a brother. 
On being asked why she had not rather chosen to 
save one of her children, she replied, "I may have 
other children, but another brother I cannot have." 
To-day being the first of the Chinese month, 
several people have come to worship at the temple. 
Several travelling monks assist at the devotions. 
Among the worshippers were some respectably 
dressed females, one of whom took her little child, 
that knew not its right hand from its left, and 
making it kneel before the idol, taught it to lift its 
hands and worship. 

June 7. Another case of opium poisoning to-day. 
It was a young man who could not collect money to 
pay his debts on the fifth of the month, when 
according to custom here, all debts must be settled. 
The application for assistance was too late, as he 
was dying when Dr. McCartee reached the house. 

June 16. A visit from sundry official persons, 
and some scholars, to-day. They were civil, very 
inquisitive, and not at all backward in asking for 
anything they took a fancy to. One of them 
requested a few sheets of writing paper, as a 
curiosity, and when I took out half a quire, mean- 
ing to give him a sheet or two, he held out both 
hands, and took all, exclaiming, "Oh, thank you, 
thank you !•" We gave them tracts, several of which 
were printed on our own press, with the Parisian 
type. They expressed much pleasure at the beauty 
and clearness of the type, as I have more than once 
or twice heard scholars do, when they opened one 
of our tracts. 

June 18. An animated discussion with my tea- 
cher to-day on idolatry. He is the most zealous 
defender of their idolatrous rites that I have ever 
met among the Chinese, and does not, as most of 
them do, assent to everything that we say on the 
subject. According to what he says, idols were not 
formerly worshipped in China, nor are they now, by 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 265 

the literati, who pay their adoration only to the 
souls of the deified persons, and not to the images. 
When pressed in argument, he admitted that it was 
of no use, except to show reverential feeling, for 
the souls of the idols being in heaven, could not 
hear or enjoy the worship paid to them. At last 
he confessed that it was only " long established cus- 
tom." I rejoiced to be able to tell him distinctly, 
that it was only by renouncing all idols, believing 
on Christ, and worshipping him, that any man could 
be saved. 

It is curious to see how they use the same argu- 
ments in favour of their worship, which the Roman 
Catholics urge for the adoration of the saints. 
Among other things, he said that it was better to 
worship heroes, and such like, because ^lod is too 
great to be troubled with our prayers, and therefore, 
we must approach him by means of persons greater 
than ourselves. When asked if there were any 
good and sinless men on earth, he replied with em- 
phasis, "There are few indeed!" When asked, 
"Did you ever see one?" he replied, a Never T At 
this point he seemed to feel uncomfortable, and ad- 
mitted that man's natural disposition is not good, 
though he was hardly willing to say this, without 
some qualification. 

June 19. Another long conversation with my 
teacher, on religion, in which I could not but ad- 
mire his independence. He freely admitted the 
difference between Christianity and the religion of 
China; but unlike most Chinese teachers, he would 
not compliment me, by saying that ours was the 
best.' He listened with interest, while I spoke of 
the way of salvation, through the sufferings and 
death of Christ. Oh, that he were himself a Chris- 
tian ! He is acute to detect the inconsistencies of 
professed Christians, and asked some questions to- 
day, respecting some, which were hard to answer. 

June 21. Went into the main building of the 
temple to-night, and found all the monks busy at 



266 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

their devotions. Some person was making an offer- 
ing, and his gifts were spread out in order before the 
idol. Fourteen candles were burning. The old ab- 
bot was beating the drum, and twelve monks, more 
than half of whom were visitors, were chanting from 
the Shangteking, or Classic of the Supreme Ruler. 
Each wore a long yellow, or orange coloured robe, 
fringed with black, and read from a copy of the book 
beautifully written with red ink. They chanted, 
beat their bells and blocks of wood, knelt, and rose 
again, and bowed their heads Oh, how melancholy 
to see it ! Some of the monks were old and gray- 
headed. One was young, with the ruddiness of boy- 
hood still on his cheeks. I thought of the command, 
" Thou shalt not bow down unto them — " and my 
heart sanl§ within me, as the question rose, "How 
long, oh Lord, how long? — " Will this kind go out 
except by prayer and fasting? 

June 26. Several conversations with my teacher, 
of late, on religion, which seem to have made some 
impression on him. He was much struck with the 
idea of missionaries coming here, not to make money, 
but simply to teach religion, and after a pause, said 
seriously, "It requires great faith to do all this. I 
do not think our Chinese would do it." Giving him 
an account of my being shipwrecked some years ago, 
he was much interested, and remarked, " Truly you 
would not have escaped, if Jesus had not preserved 

you." 

July 1. The warmest day we have yet had. 
Thermometer at 91° for a while, and now at nine 
o'clock, p. m., at 88°. Little wind, and weather 
very damp. It is what the Chinese call the wang 
may teen, or yellow plum season, because the plums 
are then ripe, when the atmosphere is so overloaded 
with moisture, that even when the sun is shining, 
the stone and wooden floors are as damp as if they 
had but lately been scrubbed, and had not time to 
dry. 

July 6th, Sabbath. Greatly disturbed in our 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 267 

morning worship, by a number of Chinese carrying 
alum, the property of a Christian merchant, out of 
a neighbouring store-room to load a ship, the pro- 
perty of a CJiristian owner. Verily, there is but 
little fear of God in the eyes of many who do busi- 
ness in this heathen land. Alas ! for our work 
among this people, who know not how to distinguish 
among the professed and the real followers of Christ. 

Very rainy, damp weather for some days, and so 
cold, notwithstanding the heat a week ago, as to 
render thick clothes and woollen stockings comforta- 
ble. But it is the last, probably, of the cold wea- 
ther for a while. 

July 24. Had a visit to-day from a Mr. Lefevre, 
a French Roman Catholic missionary, who has spent 
five years in Keangse, one in Nankin, and three in 
Macao. He seems to be about fifty-five years old, 
and is now on his way to Tartary, to take charge of 
their theological school at Siwan. He speaks 
Chinese, the court dialect, fluently, and tolerably 
well, but with rather a French accent. As he 
knew no English, and I but little French, we talked 
together in Chinese. He goes first to Shanghai, 
there changes his garments and puts on a queue, 
with Chinese spectacles, to conceal his eyes. From 
Shanghai he goes by the grand canal, and expresses 
no fear of being detected on the way. Though he 
speaks fluently, he knows but little of the written 
language, not being able to write so common a char- 
acter as Kung, (noble,) which he has occasion to 
use every day. 

He speaks in the highest terms of Mr. Ramaux, 
Roman Catholic bishop of Keangse, and says he 
speaks Chinese better than even his own language. 
(I have since heard that Mr. Ramaux was lately 
drowned in Macao. From some of his letters, I had 
formed a good opinion of him.) The Roman Cath- 
olics in China call their priests Shin foo, spiritual 
fathers, and the bishops, Choo Keaou, lords of the 
religion. 



268 MEMOIR OP WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

July 25. Went into the temple with a bundle of 
thirty or forty gospels and tracts in my arms, and 
found many worshippers. Presently some came and 
asked what books I had. On giving one away, there 
was instantly a crowd of eager applicants, and in a 
few minutes all were disposed of. A hundred more 
would have been taken, if I had thought fit to give 
them ; but it seemed better to stop while they were 
eager for more, than to give them to satiety. 

July 28. This is the birthday of the god of 
thunder, though, as my teacher laughing said, "No 
one knows how old he is." A crowd of men and 
women were in the temple. My teacher says, 
"Most of the worshippers are women, who greatly 
fear the thunder, though there are some men. The 
women like these worshipping days, because it gives 
them an opportunity to see, and to be seen in their 
fine clothes; and most of the men who come, come 
to amuse themselves, and look at the women." 
Among the crowd of the common folks, there were 
many men and women in silks and embroideries. 
Stalls were at every corner, where men were selling 
candles, incense sticks, and paper for offerings. 
The temple was full of smoke ; and the crowd, 
together with the smoke and the burning paper, 
renders the place almost insupportably hot. I took 
some forty or fifty tracts, but the crowd was so 
great, and the eagerness to get them so excessive, 
that there was little satisfaction in distributing 
them. 

In the Kea Paou, vol. i., line 562, is this sentence. 
"Ancient men have well said, c A relation afar off is 
not so good as a neighbour that is near.' " Almost 
word for word with Prov. xxvii. 10. "Better is a 
neighbour that is near, than a brother afar off." 

My teacher was greatly shocked to-day, when I 
said that "Abraham was the friend of God." "How 
can it be?" he exclaimed; "how can a man be the 
friend of God ? for a friend implies equality. Such 
a thing ought not to be said." These poor heathen 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 269 

have little idea of the exceeding grace and con- 
descension of God. The other day, talking with 
him, he advanced the sentiment that the affairs of 
the world to come, being beyond our personal obser- 
vation, are of no importance to us ; that if we attend 
to our own business in this life, the future may be 
safely left to take care of itself. In confirmation 
of his opinion that the future world is entirely 
beyond our knowledge and concern, he quoted the 
saying of Confucius, "Not knowing even life, how 
can we know death ?" How truly it was said of 
Christ, "He hath brought life and immortality to 
light through the Gospel ;" for they were not known 
before, and are not known where the Gospel is not 
heard. 



Ningpo, April 30th, 1845. 

Mrs. C. M. Hepburn — I have little sympathy for 
those who delight to say that our blessed Saviour 
never smiled, for when he "rejoiced in spirit," and 
when he heard the little children cry, Hosanna! it 
seems to me as if a smile, strangely and yet sweetly 
blending the divine and human, must have played 
upon those features. How pleasant, more than 
"pleasant," to see those features, once marked with 
the impress of pain and suffering and sorrow ! They 
are not so marked now, for a glory covers them, 
such as the disciples saw when they were with him 
in the holy mount, and that glory I trust we shall 
ere long see. 

My previous letter will have informed you of my 
arrival at Chusan, April 2. I stayed there a week, 
enjoying greatly the scenery and appearance of the 
place. It quite surpassed my expectations, and is 
vastly more beautiful than anything I have yet seen 
in China, always excepting Chang-Chow and the 
country around. You have nothing at Amoy or 
Kulangsu equal to Chusan. 



270 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

There are some pious soldiers at Chusan, and, 

among others, I was surprised to see Corporal R , 

who used to be such a constant visitor of yours at 
Amoy. He asked very earnestly about you all. 
They all seem very glad of Loomis's going there, 
and he now preaches in the chapel there every 
Sabbath. I left Chusan on the 10th of April, and 
go there the next day. Stayed a week with Br. 
Way, and then came over to the Yu-Shing-Kwan 
monastery, which is just within the north gate of 
the city. Dr. McCartee has been here for some 
three or four months, and I got a suite of rooms 
just like his, on the same terms. 

This is a very quiet part of the city, as there are 
few houses near ; the mass of the population lies off 
in other parts of the city. I calculate the inhabi- 
tants at two hundred and fifty thousand, including 
the suburbs at the east and west gates, which are 
very extensive and populous. ... 

We propose observing next Friday as a day of 
fasting and prayer, both for the mission, and as pre- 
paratory to the Lord's Supper, which I am to ad- 
minister on the Sabbath following. Miss Aldersey 
has a fine girls' school, numbering fifteen pupils, and 
sustains herself well. I hope for much good from 
the organization of a church in these extreme ends 
of the earth. I trust that ere long we may admit 
some of the inhabitants of this place into our fellow- 
ship. . . . 

May 1st. "The laughing month of May;" though 
we might almost apply to it the term given to the 
following month, " The rose encumbered June." 

One of the monks brought me a bouquet of roses 
to-day, which I have arranged in a tumbler beneath 
my looking-glass. I have been busy fitting up my 
rooms to-day, and have everything now arranged 
much to my mind. 

.... I hope we are all settled now, and will not 
have to move about any more, or make any other 
changes. I would like to see you all; but when 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 271 

shall it be ? As my sister E. says in her last letter 
to me, " I am prepared to say, I hope you will not 
leave your field of labour, even to come and see us." 
I am sure I am so glad to be at my long-desired 
haven, that it would require no slight inducement 
for me to leave it. How nervous I used to feel 
sometimes, on my last trip, for fear I should not get 
up after all. By what strange ways we are led 
along, and sometimes hard ones to travel. "Oh 
there are same rough ways to heaven." "In the 
world ye shall have tribulation." So our blessed 
Lord himself said. 

Friday, May 2d. We have been observing this 
as a day of fasting and prayer for the mission, and 
also as preparatory to the Lord's Supper. We met 
at 10 o'clock — only ourselves — six in all. Bro. 
Culbertson conducted the services, and made some 
very good remarks on the duties before us, and the 
disposition we should have. I read a long letter 
which I have just received from my father, in which 
he gives his views on several points in relation to 
the missionary work in China. I wish you were 
nearer, I would lend it to you. We all led in prayer. 
In the afternoon we had another meeting at four 
o'clock, which 1 conducted; subject of my remarks, 
1 Cor. xi. 23 ; the administration of the Lord's Sup- 
per. What a beautiful and forcible passage it is ! 
The Lord's Supper was instituted "the same night 
in which he was betrayed." Oh what a night was 
that ! It was the crisis in the world's history. Had 
our Saviour then drawn back, had the cup passed by 
him, where had we been ? Earth never saw a night 
like that. It was on that night that Satan's malice 
and man's wickedness rose to their highest point; 
and on that night the love of Christ was specially 
shown in the appointment of this solemn and tender 
ordinance. How the love of God in Christ stands 
in shining contrast with the wickedness of man and 
Satan! And what a beautiful sentence that is: 
" Ye do show the Lord's death till he come !" He 



272 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

will come again "in the clouds of heaven." Yea, 
he has told us, he will " come quickly." It will be 
" with power and great glory/ We who are alive 
and remain, shall be caught up with the risen saints 
to meet the Lord in the air. Now we are expect- 
ing it. " We love his appearing," is the characteris- 
tic of Christians. 



' Let the vain world pronounce it shame !- 
With joy we tell the scoffing age, 

He that was dead hath left the tomb. 
He lives above their utmost rage, 

And we are waiting till he come." 



Herein is a beautiful feature of this ordinance. It 
was instituted in the time of Christ's degradation 
and sorrow, as a memorial of the same ; but it is to 
be observed until the time when he comes in power 
and glory and joy. Every time we observe it we 
are carried back to the scene of his sorrow, and 
pointed forward to the time of his and our joy, when 
it shall be said to us, " Enter ye into the joy of the 
Lord." Oh that when the bridegroom cometh, we 
may be ready to enter in before the door is shut ! 

Our servants are greatly at a loss to find we have 
eaten so little to-day. We tried to explain it, but 
they could not comprehend why it was. I have a 
very simple-hearted servant, and as soon as I came 
back from the morning service he said, " Mr. Lowrie, 
don't you want something to eat T 

May 3. I have been witnessing an idolatrous 
ceremony in another part of the monastery where I 
live, which has made my heart sick. The old gray- 
headed Taou priest and three of the monks were 
reciting prayers, beating gongs, cymbals, and the 
like, and bowing before their idols. A man had 
come to offer thanks on the birth-day of his son, and 
the little boy, six years old, sat and watched the 
whole proceeding. Who made me to differ? Why 
have I such glorious hopes ? What have I done to 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 273 

deserve them? What am I now doing for him who 
died for me, and called me into the ministry? 

It is a rainy afternoon. The sky is all of one 
dull, sombre hue ; the rain comes gently yet quickly 
down. A light wind blows the damp air into my 
apartments, and some noisy birds are chattering 
under the Kwai hwa trees in the court. I should 
like to have a social chat with you at such a time as 
this ; but we are far away, and, moreover, the day 
draws to a close, and after hearing the boys say 
their lesson, I must finish my preparations for the 
services of to-morrow. Oh, how pleasant to sit at 
the Lord's table rather than at the table of devils ; 
to hope for God's favour rather than that of idols 
which cannot save ! 

With my love to your husband, and to Lloyd and 
Brown, I remain yours ; ever affectionately, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



Ningpo, May 30th, 1845. 

My Dear Father — The city of Mngpo lies nearly 
in the centre of a large plain, surrounded on all 
sides by mountains, and intersected by innumerable 
canals, which are nearly all navigable, and serve the 
double purpose of irrigation and travelling. A 
covered boat and boatmen can be had for a whole 
day for twenty-five cents, and whenever we want to 
extend our ramble any distance beyond the city, we 
find it most convenient to make use of them. The 
plain is at least twenty miles in diameter in its nar- 
rowest part, and much wider in other places. The 
whole of this great amphitheatre is thickly studded 
over with villages and farm-houses, and has two or 
three large cities besides Ningpo. Foreigners are 
not allowed to wander beyond the keen, or district of 
which Ningpo is the capital. Its exact dimensions 
we do not well know, but we can go at least three 
miles on every side, and in one direction as many 



274 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

as twenty or thirty. By a little prudence and care, 
we shall doubtless obtain a wider range for our ex- 
cursions. For the present, unable as we are to 
speak with fluency, the field is vastly larger than 
we can profitably occupy; and whenever we can 
speak well, we doubt not that the door will be 
opened wider. Should it not be opened, the ques- 
tion will arise, whether obedience to a higher au- 
thority and covenant than any of human devising, 
will not justify us in exceeding the limits that have 
been fixed, and preaching in other cities the king- 
dom of God. On this point there is some diversity 
of opinion amongst us; but I am disposed to think 
that a blessing would attend our efforts, if carried 
on, occasionally at least, where the prince of this 
world now exercises supreme authority. Opposi- 
tion and excitement on the part of the rulers would 
but rouse attention to our work. But it may be 
thought that this is looking too far ahead. 

The foreign trade of Ningpo is not so great as it 
once was. It once carried on an important com- 
merce with Manilla, w T hen South America belonged 
to Spain, as well as with other parts of the Chinese 
Empire. But of late years Shanghai has greatly 
surpassed it, and the latter city is likely to possess 
by much the largest share of trade with western 
lands. When the treaty was formed in 1842, it 
was supposed by Sir Henry Pottinger, Mr. Morri- 
son, and nearly every other person, that Ningpo 
would be the most important of the five ports; but 
it has been found, that the vicinity of Shanghai to 
the city of Loochow, and to the grand canal, give 
it great advantages over any of the other ports. 
The best days of Ningpo are probably past, and 
painful evidences of decay are visible on all sides. 
Still it has a considerable trade with Fuhkeen, and 
with the northern provinces; and numerous junks 
are constantly lying in the river. It offers more 
advantages to Americans than to the English, as it 
lies nearer to the green tea district, and offers a 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 275 

good market for the sale of American manufactured 
goods. 

The people are as civil and obliging as could rea- 
sonably be expected, considering the severe and un- 
called for treatment they received during the war, 
and the thoughtless course of some of the English 
officers, in destroying the public buildings for fire- 
wood. We are better treated here, by far, than a 
Chinaman would be in New York or London; though 
it does occasionally ruffle one's temper to hear him- 
self called a pah-kwei, or white devil, with some other 
such choice epithets. So far as I have seen, there is 
little difference between this place and Shanghai in 
that respect; and the difference in favour of this 
place, which was observed not long ago, was proba- 
bly owing to the fear of foreigners then fresh in 
mind, but now wearing off. 

We have lately organized a church here, under 
the title, "Presbyterian Church of Ningpo," of 
which Mr. Culbertson has been elected pastor. It 
consists of seven members, to wit: D. B. McCartee, 
Hingapoo, a Chinese servant of Mr. Way's, together 
with Mrs. Way, Mrs. Culbertson, Miss Aldersey, 
Ruth Ati, and Christiana Kit. The two latter are 
Chinese girls whom Miss Aldersey has educated, 
and who were baptized by Mr. Medhurst in Java. 
Dr. McCartee was elected ruling elder, and Mr. 
Way and myself also act as ruling elders for the 
time being. The church was regularly organized on 
the 18th inst., when Mr. Culbertson preached a ser- 
mon on Acts ii. 42-47, and Dr. McCartee was or- 
dained as ruling elder, with the laying on of hands 
of the bishop, and the right hand of fellowship from 
Mr. Way and myself, in our capacity as ruling elders. 
It was a good day to us all; and though the begin- 
ning is small, we trust the latter end will greatly 
increase. It is a day of small things, but a day not to 
be despised. As this is the first Presbyterian church 
in China, pray for us that the small one may become 
a thousand, and the weak one a strong nation. 



276 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

May 31st. In regard to the facilities for dis- 
tributing tracts a good deal might be said, but the 
nature of it would depend much on the disposition 
of the person who writes. Any number might be 
given away. I would undertake to give to eager 
applicants more than as many as our press could 
possibly print, but the misfortune is, that they would 
be just as eagerly sought after, if they were copies 
of raine's Age of Reason, or any other book in the 
world. I think each member of our mission disap- 
proves of indiscriminate distribution. We do not yet 
know the proportion of the people who can read, 
though it is probably small; yet we have an excel- 
lent opportunity here of circulating tracts and gos- 
pels, and there is rarely a day that Dr. McCartee 
and myself do not give away one or more, where 
we are pretty sure they will be read. We regard 
this, therefore, as an important means of circulating 
the principles of our religion, though greatly infe- 
rior to the oral preaching of the word. 

I remain your affectionate son, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



Ningpo, July 22d, 1845. 

My Dear Mother — .... Did you ever notice 
Psalm xxx. 5 ? " His anger endureth but a moment, 
in his favour is life. Weeping may endure for a 
night, but joy cometh in the morning." Is not that 
beautiful? But here is a literal translation of it, 
which is, if possible still more beautiful and ex- 
pressive : 

"A moment in his anger, 
But lifetimes in his favour : 
In the evening, weeping will abide ; 
But in the morning there is shouting." 

Observe the force of the expression. "In the 
evening, weeping will abide." It "will abide." It 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 277 

threatens to remain long with us ; sorrow seems as 
if it were about to take up its abode. Night is 
before us, and we see no sun, no day, no joy beyond. 
But the night quickly passes, "as a dream of the 
night," and what then? "In the morning there is 
shouting." And how true it is ! Just compare 
Isaiah liv. 7, with 2 Corinthians iv. 17. 

That a person can be a Christian, and yet afraid 
of death, I have no doubt. Indeed, I suppose most 
Christians are so. But why should it be so ? It is 
hardly correct to say, "The Bible says ' Death is 
the king of terrors.' ' Bildad the Shuhite said so, 
or something like it, for I am not sure that he meant 
death by that expression; but if he did, I would 
not like to take all he said for the Bible. The New 
Testament does not so represent it. It says that 
Christ "gave up the ghost," and that Stephen "fell 
asleep." The apostle says, even of the offending 
Corinthian Christians, "many sleep;" and of de- 
ceased Christians generally, that they "are asleep." 
Asleep ! what is so peaceful ! quiet repose in Christ ! 
how long or short it matters little. Soon the Lord 
will come again, and them that are asleep will he 
bring with him. How soon? We know not; but 
soon, not a thousand years off, but so soon that we 
may not fall asleep, perhaps, before he comes. . . . 
As ever, affectionately yours, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



Ningpoy August 2d, 1845. 

My Dear Father — .... My health is better, 
so far, this year, than any year since I came to Chi- 
na. Still, however, the warm weather has a weak- 
ening effect, which we all feel more or less. There 
is too in this place a constant tendency to diarrhoea 
in summer, which needs a good deal of care to avoid 
it. In another month the cool weather will com- 

24 



278 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

mence. If this year be a fair specimen of Ningpo 
summer, I think there is every prospect of good 
health here. It is said, however, to be cooler than 
usual. . . . 

I am now engaged in preparing a copy of Luke 
for publication, with short notices, which I hope will 
be ready by the end of the year; and perhaps I 
shall prepare also Acts in the same w r ay. I am 
losing faith in the doctrine, "The Bible without 
note or comment," at least as far as the Chinese are 
concerned, from the often witnessed fact, that the 
most intelligent of them fall into frequent and gross 
mistakes as to its meaning. For example, many 
think we worship our ancestors, because the Lord's 
prayer commences, "Our Father which art in 
heaven." If we only had enough of our small type, 
Luke and the comments might make a volume of 
seventy-five or one hundred pages. With Dyer's 
type, and the Paris type, it will be one hundred 
and fifty or more, and consequently far more expen- 
sive, and, as I think, not so good-looking. Perhaps 
if we print it, we may get enough of small type cut 
by hand to supply all we want. This will be ex- 
pensive, but not much more so than to use so much 
more paper, &c, with larger type. 

. . . . " The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice." 
His own cause is infinitely dear to him, and our fol- 
lies, weaknesses, sins, mistakes, all things shall not 
retard it; no, not for one moment. His way may 
be in darkness and storms, and the clouds may be 
but the dust of his feet ; but in due time, at the ap- 
pointed season, all will be plain. Till then, "Wo 
unto the world because of offences. It must needs 
be that offences come;" but I pray God that they 
come not from us. Oh for that happy time when 
they shall not hurt nor destroy, nor cause to offend, 
in all God's holy mountain. 

Ever affectionately your son, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 279 

JOURNAL AT NINGPO. 

August 8. Exhibiting a microscope to my 
teacher and servants, at which they were in great 
astonishment. The beautiful workmanship of the 
instrument itself, (a present from a kind friend in 
New York,) attracted much admiration; but its 
power in displaying minute objects was a thing of 
which they had formed no previous conception. The 
hairy leg of a fly was an object of especial curiosity, 
and they exclaimed frequently, " Why, the fly's leg 
has hairs ! the fly's leg has hairs !" 

The weather is now warm, and weakening in its 
effects. One's strength is easily exhausted, and 
two or three hours of close application, either to the 
pen or one's books, is fatiguing. 

August 9. A feast for the dead, who have no 
surviving children to worship them, is just now (nine 
o'clock, p. M.) going on outside of my rooms. Two 
long ropes, with numerous strips of coloured paper 
suspended, are hung along the sides of the streets, 
and tables with various eatables, as eggs, water- 
lily roots, beans, fish, ginger, rice, cups of spirits, 
and the like, are spread over them. At one end is 
a hideous monster made of paper, and at the other 
a company of priests are performing some mono- 
tonous ceremonies. Budhist and Taou priests mingle 
together in the rites, and the little children look on 
it as a great "raree-show." The object is to feed the 
souls of dead men in this neighbourhood, who have no 
children left to provide for their wants. Contribu- 
tions have been given by the neighbours to the 
amount of four thousand cash, and as the expenses 
will scarcely amount to one thousand, the remainder 
will of course fall into the pockets of the priests. 

Saturday evening, August 23. A warm oppressive 
day. Feeling a slight headache in the evening, I 
went out and sat down on the wall by the north 
gate, to enjoy what little wind might be stirring. 
Several workmen who lodged in the guard-house 



280 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

over the gate, came up to me, and after a few ques- 
tions and answers we were on the best possible terms. 
The conversation, where all were in a good-humour, 
and all wanted to talk, was very mixed, and some- 
times diverting enough. After a few ordinary 
phrases, I began to find myself out of my depth, 
but still a word here and there, and half a sentence 
sometimes, kept us going. At last I asked them 
"what gods they worshipped;" to which some 
replied, "Yuh-kwang," (the Jewelled Emperor,) 
also "Kwan-yin," and various others. On this I 
remarked that these were all false gods, mere wood 
and clay ; they were unable to speak, hear, see or 
walk. Of what use were they ? Why should they 
be worshipped? These remarks excited frequent 
bursts of laughter, with exclamations, " True !" "Just 
so !" and the like. They then asked if we had no 
idols in our country, on which, " with stammering 
lips, and in another tongue," I set before them the 
only object of worship, the true God, the Supreme 
Ruler of all, the hearer of prayer, and his son Jesus 
Christ. They were astonished when told that he 
could see, hear, and speak, and asked various ques- 
tions, to many of which I found it difficult to reply. 
On coming away several of them requested me to 
" come again to-morrow." 

Wednesday, September 3. Dr. McCartee and 
myself started on a trip of relaxation and explora- 
tion, meaning to visit Teentung, a celebrated Bud- 
hist monastery, some twenty-five miles south of 
Ningpo. We engaged a boat lar^e enough to accom- 
modate ourselves, with my teacher, and a servant, 
besides the two boatmen. The charge for the boat 
and boatmen is about half a dollar a day. 

The boat being somewhat slow in starting, we 
strolled through a large grave-yard near the landing. 
Numerous coffins were lying about on the top of the 
ground with no covering whatever, and some were 
almost fallen to pieces through age. There were 
three stone buildings about ten or twelve feet square, 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 281 

and as many high, intended for the reception of 
children's bones. One was the "Children's Pagoda," 
and the others the "Boys' Pagoda/' and "Girls' 
Pagoda." Such buildings are common, for in China 
little attention is paid to the burial of children, un- 
less they happen to be the first born. Instead of 
the massive coffins in which the remains of adults 
are laid, a slight box is nailed together, in which 
they are deposited, and laid anywhere, until, the 
frail structure having decayed, and the flesh disap- 
peared, the bones are collected and put in such 
Wildings as these. 

Continuing our walk through the suburb, which 
is long and wide, and near the city very populous, 
we gave away some tracts, but refused many appli- 
cants, on the ground that they could not read. It 
soon began to rain, and getting into our boat, we 
proceeded rapidly on our way. We slept rather 
uncomfortably in the boat, and arrived during the 
night at the hills within six miles of Teentung. 

The next morning on awaking we found ourselves 
at the foot of some hills, and as far as the boat could 
go. The country around had an inviting aspect, 
and we began to promise ourselves much pleasure in 
rambling about among the hills. But to our dismay, 
heavy showers of ram came up every few minutes, 
and it soon appeared that there was small prospect 
of getting comfortably to Teentung. We turned 
our faces towards Yuh~wang, a large Budhist monas- 
tery, with two high towers, which we had seen 
during the morning. 

We reached the monastery a little before sunset, 
and found it so embowered in trees that the build- 
ings were not visible till we were close to them. 
The Budhist priests have certainly, what is rather 
uncommon among other classes, a good deal of taste 
in the selection of their residences. This monastery 
is beautifully situated in a gorge of two hills, with 
another hill directly in front. This does not furnish 
a very wide prospect in any direction, but it makes 

24* 



282 MEMOIT* OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

the place quiet and retired. A brick wall inclosing 
several acres of ground goes round the monastery. 
Entering the main gate, we went down to the bot- 
tom of the valley, crossed a little bridge thrown over 
the valley stream, and ascending a slight elevation 
of some twenty feet or more, entered the buildings, 
and proceeding through one or two large court-yards, 
were politely received by the monks, and shown into 
the strangers' apartments, a set of three or four 
rooms, with some chairs, tables, and bedsteads. 
Monasteries and temples are the principal inns in 
China, though they seldom furnish more than four 
walls and a roof. The traveller is expected to fur- 
nish his own bedding and food, and to have some 
one to prepare it for him, though the latter service 
can generally be performed for him by extempore 
cooks, if he is willing to put up with the ignorance 
of foreign modes, and the dirty habits by which they 
are generally distinguished. It is, however, the 
safest and cheapest plan for the traveller to have his 
own servant along; and though some good friend of 
missions at home may ask what business a plain 
missionary has to carry a servant about with him, 
vet such would do well to consider, that here we 
nave no comfortable inns, with separate rooms which 
we can lock when we go out, and where everything 
in the shape of bedding and food is prepared for us 
by attentive landlords. But this is digression. — 
Being wearied by the confinement of our boat, we 
were glad to get our supper; and after a hasty 
glance at the buildings, as it was now dark, we soon 
went to bed, but did not rest very well, for there 
was an abundance of fleas, and having neglected our 
own musquito curtains, we were fain to use some we 
found in the monastery, which did not shelter us 
perfectly from the attacks of the musquitoes. 

The first building is a large high structure of only 
one story. Within it is about one hundred feet 
long by seventy broad, and the roof is supported by 
numerous wooden pillars, standing on stone bases. 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 283 

The Chinese have not the art of supporting a roof 
without using so many pillars as to diminish mate- 
rially the effect of a large room. The principal ob- 
jects in this room were three immense figures, the 
Three Precious Buddhas. They were sitting with 
their feet drawn up like tailors at work, and were 
of immense size. Judging from the base of the seat 
on which they sat, and which, though twelve feet 
square, they quite covered, they must have been 
eighteen or twenty feet high, even in their sitting 
posture. They were richly gilt, and between them 
stood two attendants, gilt all over, and perhaps 
twelve feet high. They did not seem to have much 
worship paid to them, and the sparrows which had 
made their nests in the roof above, denied the place 
with dirt. Behind these figures, and facing the 
other way, was the image of Kwan Yin, " She who 
regards the prayers of the world," sitting on a horse, 
(or ass ?) and carrying a child in her arms. Several 
attendants stood round her shrine, which was alto- 
gether a curious specimen of working in clay. It 
represented the sea, with numerous rocks and 
islands, over which she was crossing on horseback. 
Along the ends and back of this building, sat thirty- 
four gilt images, each as large as the human figure, 
with every variety of countenance and dress. In 
front of the door stood the most curiously gnarled 
tree I ever saw. Its trunk was more than a foot in 
diameter ; after rising up about six or eight feet it 
bent back in a sharp angle to the ground, and then 
stretched up again, while its branches stood out in 
every direction. It was inclosed by a stone railing, 
and evidently was esteemed a great curiosity. There 
was some story of miraculous appearances connected 
with it; but I have forgotten what it is. 

Directly behind this building, and separated 
from it by a large square stone-paved court, was 
another sixty by eighty feet in dimensions, and in 
much better keeping. The principal objects of in- 
terest were two really magnificent shrines, of a cir- 



284 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWREE. 

cular pyramidal shape, one behind the other. Over 
the hinder one an immense silken canopy was sus- 
pended, lights were constantly burning before them, 
and some of the monks seemed to be always in the 
building. And for what, think you, was all this dis- 
play ? Because one of the shrines contained a veri- 
table Shay-le of Buddh, taken from his sacred body 
before his deification! And what is a Shay-le? On 
this point I can get but little satisfaction. I am 
told "it is neither gold nor brass, nor stone, nor yet 
bone nor flesh. It is a small round thing, about as 
big as the half of a pea, and looks somewhat like a 
scab from a sore that is healing up." For a " con- 
sideration" the priests will allow you to see it, and 
if you are a good man, or likely to be prosperous, 
its color is red, but if the reverse, it will be black. 
As great honours are paid to this valuable relic, as to 
the blood of St. Januarius, and no doubt the priests 
make much money out of it. My teacher, who has 
of late some new views on some topics, laughs at it 
as an imposition to wheedle people out of their 
money. There are several idols in this hall, one of 
which is a jolly fat old fellow with a continual laugh 
on his face. The other buildings of the temple have 
little in them worthy of notice, and the rain was so 
violent that we were obliged to postpone to another 
time our purposed visit to the towers and grounds 
of the temple. This we regretted, as the two 
towers are each seven stories high, and the country 
had a very pretty appearance. 

There are about thirty monks in the establish- 
ment. Those we saw were generally pale and sick- 
ly looking fellows, with countenances betokening 
very little mental exertion or worth. The routine 
of their duties is such, as must effectually quench 
every noble aspiration, for it consists in an unceasing 
round of prostrations and chants, generally in an 
unknown tongue, and almost always performed 
without the slightest appearance of devotion or 
zeal. It is marvellous how men can for years 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 285 

practise such insipid ceremonies, without becoming 
utterly disgusted with them. One of the monks 
had deprived himself of one of his fingers by a very 
painful process ; he had wrapped oiled flax around 
it down to the middle of the joint next the hand, 
and burned it slowly, another monk reciting prayers 
all the time, till the finger was consumed. When 
we saw him the stump was not perfectly healed. 
He had also seared the flesh of one arm in a dozen 
places with a hot iron. He had a special vow of 
abstinence from covetousness, wine, and lewdness, 
and these were the marks by which he made his 
vow generally known. But notwithstanding such 
evidences, which, by the way, are not uncommon, 
the character of those who bear them is by no 
means good. The " forbidding to marry, and com- 
manding to abstain from meats, ' by which the Budd- 
hist and Taou sects are distinguished, are followed 
by just the consequences which all history teaches 
us to expect. 

Having seen all we wanted, and being tired of stay- 
ing, we began to think of going, — but how to accom- 
plish it ? The rain fell in torrents, and the road to 
our boat was flooded the greater part of the way by 
a stream of water nearly a foot deep. It was a reg- 
ular scene in wading, and might have reminded one 
of trout-fishing in the streams in Pennsylvania. 
Getting to the boat, we changed our wet clothes for 
others, and going off in the rain, reached home 
shortly before dark, greatly amused and profited 
by our trip, though it had not turned out as we had 
expected. 

Tuesday, October 14. In walking through the 
streets of Chusan, I was singularly affected by hear- 
ing a little girl, daughter of one of the English sol- 
diers now stationed here, saying, " my mother wants 
you to come back directly." The familiar words 
and English accent spoken by a young person were 
so different from the u unknown tongue 7 ' spoken by 
every one around, that they easily transported my 



286 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

thoughts to a land where all speak my own mother 
tongue. How strangely it would now seem, to be 
where everybody spoke the same language with 
myself! 

Tuesday, October 21. Started on a trip to Poo- 
too, one of the most celebrated establishments of the 
Buddhists in China. 

Poo-too lies east of the north-eastern extremity 
of Chusan. According to a Chinese history of the 
island, it is about a hundred le, or a little over thirty 
miles, from Tinghai. A deep cleft or valley near 
the middle of the island reveals the yellow-tiled roof 
of one of the principal temples, from a great distance 
off, but the principal landing-place is at the south- 
eastern extremity. 

No sooner does one step on shore than he has 
evidence on every side that the place is "wholly 
given to idolatry.' A small worshipping place stood 
close by the landing; shrines and inscriptions were 
cut in the rocks by the roadside, and a large red 
gateway covered with tiles announced the approach 
to a temple. Pursuing the walk a hundred yards 
further over a broad stone-paved pathway overhung 
by trees, you enter the Pih-hwa-yen, or "white 
flowery monastery." Here I sought for lodgings, 
but the monks seemed not to desire company, and 
complained of having met such uncivil treatment 
from foreigners who had recently been there, that 
they did not wish to see any more. However, they 
finally showed me a suite of three or four rooms, or 
rather closets, up stairs, of which I took possession, 
and leaving my servant to keep watch and get din- 
ner ready, I sallied out to see what might be seen. 

The Pih-hwa-yen is an old building built on a 
foundation dug out of the hill-side, and almost con- 
cealed from sight by large overhanging trees and 
shrubbery. It is now in bad repair, and has an old 
and faded appearance. The number of monks is 
said to be about forty, but I saw not more than ten 
or twelve. The idols and ornaments of the temple 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 287 

are all old and shabby, and it has little to interest a 
visitor. In one of the main courts under the ver- 
andah were pasted up twelve or fifteen large red 
cards, presented by ship's companies with other 
offerings in gratitude to the gods who had brought 
them on so far. Two or three of the vessels were 
from Hwuy-ChoW) in Canton, most of them from 
Chang-Chow ', Tseuen-chow, and Hing-hiva, in Fuhkeen, 
and only one from a seaport in Cheh-keang. In the 
evening a religious ceremony of some kind was per- 
formed by the old abbot, assisted by six of the 
monks, with several of the young candidates for the 
Buddhist priesthood, some sailors and myself for 
spectators. The abbot put on a scarlet robe and a 
crown, and taking an incense stick in his hand, per- 
formed numerous ceremonies, accompanied with a 
repetition of prayers and chanting, in the chorus of 
which the other monks joined. But there was not 
the slightest appearance of devotion, except perhaps 
in the manner of the old abbot. The others, in the 
intervals of the chanting, drank tea, gazed about, 
and talked with one another, while the young can- 
didates for the priesthood amused themselves with 
annoying one of the officiating monks, and putting 
balls in his chair, to trouble him when he sat down. 
This called forth an angry reproof from him, and 
produced a hearty laugh on their part. Seeing 
things go on thus, I gave one of the spectators a 
tract, whereon several others asked for some; and 
finally one of the monks left his devotions and came 
for one. I then said something on the folly of wor- 
shipping such idols, and a hearty laugh followed the 
exposure of the helplessness of their gods. With 
some further remarks on the way to worship the 
true God, and his Son Jesus Christ, I left them, glad 
to get away from the sin and folly of their unmean- 
ing ceremonies. They kept them up with the beat- 
ing of gongs and drums during the greater part of 
the night. 

From the Pih-hwa-yen, a paved stone walk, about 



288 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

five feet broad, extends over a hill and down to the 
central valley of the island, where the principal 
establishment, called the Seen-sz\ is built. On se- 
veral of the large rocks along this road, inscriptions 
are cut in large letters, and shrines are built against, 
or carved out of the rocks. At one place is a little 
shrine with some characters in a language I did not 
know, probably the Sanscrit, and beneath Nan woo 
oh me to fuh, words that are constantly and "vainly" 
repeated in the religious ceremonies of the Buddhists. 
Several paths branched off from the main road, 
leading to smaller yen, or monasteries, in the re- 
cesses of the hills. 

Arrived at the bottom of the valley, you pass 
through a large gateway, composed of four massive 
stone pillars, each a single block of granite about 
twenty feet high. Beyond this a few steps and you 
pass, at right angles, on the left another gateway 
leading into the main buildings. Before coining to 
this gateway is an inscription carved in stone to 
this effect : " Every officer, whether civil or military, 
and all the common people, on arriving at this place, 
must dismount from their horses." The reason of 
this soon appeared, for just within the second gate- 
way, and inclosed within an octagonal tower, 
covered with yellow tiles, was an immense marble 
tablet, with a long inscription, presented by the Em- 
peror Kanghi. It is the custom in China for all to 
dismount and walk when passing before anything 
that comes from the Emperor, though there was but 
little occasion for the order in this instance, seeing 
there is not a horse or ass upon the island. 

Beyond this is a pond of water, with many of the 
broad-leaved lotus plants growing at each end, and 
a beautifully arched stone bridge across it. Beyond 
this again, reaching clear to the base of the hill, 
were several large yellow-tiled temples, with open 
courts in front, and two-storied dormitories at either 
side of the courts for the monks. In the temples 
were any number of huge hideous idols, all once 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 289 

richly gilt, but now brown with age, and black and 
dirty with the smoke of incense. Just within the 
door of the main building was a shrine for drawing 
lots, and telling fortunes, with the inscription above, 
" Yew hew peih ying" " He that seeketh will certainly 
find an answer." About two dozen monks were 
kneeling and chanting in the main building, among 
whom were several older than any I have ever seen. 
Outside one or two monks were superintending the 
wiunowing of some paddy; others were watching 
men splitting up the roots of an old tree for fire- 
wood, and others were doing nothing. So lazy and 
good-for-nothing a set as the Buddhist and ' Taou 
priests, I have never seen; and I could not but ad- 
mire the simple truth with which one of the boat- 
men described their occupation, when I asked him 
what they did, "Why, sir, they eat rice, and read 
prayers." In one of the side buildings, which is 
three stories high, there is a bell $ns feet in diame- 
ter, and more than seven feet in height. It is beaten 
with a wooden hammer, (the Chinese bells rarely 
have clappers,) and its sound when gently struck, 
amidst the chantings and chorus of the monks be- 
low, was far from being unpleasant. 

Everything about these buildings showed signs of 
age, neglect, and decay. The yellow tiles, the gift 
of imperial favour, were falling from the roofs, grass 
was growing in the stone-paved court-yards, weeds 
encumbered the sacred lotus pond, windows and 
doors were falling to pieces, and the curtains and 
ornaments of the idols were even browned with 
smoke and dust. Here, too, there was but little 
evidence of devotion in their worship, and one of the 
monks stopped in the midst of his chanting to ask 
me when I arrived. I left the place with an aching 
heart; for the sight of these old men bending over 
the grave, and yet chanting the praises of these 
wooden gods, was a painful subject for thought. 

The next morning I went around to several of the 
smaller monasteries, but saw little in them of 

25 



290 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

interest. In one, the monks were so busy divining 
for some sailors, that they had not time to speak to 
strangers ; in another, they were all gone to some 
other part of the island, and in a third I found no 
person except one old monk, suffering from disease. 
He was sitting in a sheltered verandah, with a little 
"boy waiting on him, and received me quite politely, 
ordering tea to be brought. He said he was seven- 
ty-one years old; and was as intelligent a man as I 
met on the island. In answer to my inquiries, he 
said that the beginning of the monastic establish- 
ments on the island dated as far back as the Leang 
dynasty, about eight hundred years ago ; but that 
the Seen-sz' and the How-sz' were built in the Sung 
dynasty. The total number of monks on the island, 
he affirmed, did not exceed seven or eight hundred. 
I had been told the evening before, at the How-sz' 
that there were fifteen hundred, but the old man's 
statement is probably correct. There are four large, 
and one hundred and two small establishments on 
the island. Allowing one hundred monks for the 
largest, and thirty for the other three, each, we have 
about two hundred. All accounts agreed that in the 
smaller establishments there were not over five or 
six in the average, being about seven or eight hun- 
dred in all. This differs widely from the accounts 
of former visitors, who make the number amount to 
"six thousand;" but I am satisfied that those ac- 
counts are much larger than is correct. There is 
not room in all the buildings on the island to accom- 
modate so many. 

As the monk with whom I was now talking was 
old and sick, and might soon die, I felt it to be a 
duty to point out to him, however imperfectly, the 
way of eternal life beyond the grave ; but though 
he understood the most of what was said, and as- 
sented to it as very good and proper, it seemed to 
make little impression upon him. He said that after 
death he expected still to abide among the hills of 
this island, which had now been his home for more 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 291 

than fifty years. When asked how he expected to 
secure happiness beyond the grave, he replied, "By 
worshipping Buddh, and making many prayers." I 
set before him as well as I could the way of life 
through Christ, — to which he listened attentively, 
and remarked, "There were some foreigners here 
several years ago, who taught the same doctrine that 
you do;" referring doubtless to the visit of Messrs. 
Medhurst and Stevens. On coming away I gave 
him several tracts, which he received gratefully. Oh 
that the truth which he has thus heard more than 
once, may be blessed to him, even in this, the eleventh 
hour! After strolling about a little longer, I left 
the island at eleven o'clock, a. m., and reached Ting- 
hai near sunset. 

Nov. 26. Saw a wedding procession, which must 
have been several hundred yards long, and numbered 
several hundreds of people. A crowd of men and 
boys bearing banners and inscriptions went in front, 
some trumpets and cymbals followed, then seven or 
eight men on horseback, then a couple of officers, 
one bearing a white, and the other a gilt button in 
their caps ; then the bride's chair, a really beautiful 
article, elegantly painted, carved and gilded, borne 
by eight men ; but the bride was quite too well in- 
closed to be seen; then several men bearing orna- 
mental bedding-clothes and pillows, which form a 
part of the marriage presents, and are always osten- 
tatiously displayed ; while no less than twenty-one 
sedan chairs brought up the rear. The lady was 
said to be the daughter of an officer of rank. 

Dec. 1. I congratulated my teacher on the birth 
of his daughter. "No, no, we do not congratulate 
here on the birth of a daughter." " No ! why not ?" 
" Oh, they are a great expense, and very little profit 
to us." This led to some conversation on the treat- 
ment of females, and finally to the question, whether 
there was such a thing as female infanticide in this 
part of the country, he replied quickly, "No, not 
here, but there is m Canton, and in some parts of 



292 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

Fuhkeen." " Is there none at all here V " No, not 
in Ningpo ; but in the city of Funghwa, (a city about 
twenty miles off, and under the jurisdiction of the 
Che-foo of Ningpo,) there is. It is called neih-sz, 
or death by drowning, for when the child is born, 
if it be a girl, the parents or assistants often heap 
water on it, in pretence of washing it, but in such a 
way that it dies !" He made this statement very 
unwillingly, and with many exclamations of horror, 
and finally added, "But of late years, since the 
Funghwa people have begun to understand right rea- 
son and propriety, there is none of it." Notwithstand- 
ing this assertion, there is sufficient reason to sup- 
pose that this horrid custom prevails, not only in 
Funghwa, but in other places in this province 3 but 
to nothing like the extent in which it is common in 
some parts of Fuhkeen. 



To the Society of Inquiry, Princeton Theological 
Seminary. 

Ningpo, November 1st, 1845. 

Dear Brethren — In a letter from the Corres- 
ponding Secretary of your Committee on Foreign 
Missions, dated October 16th, 1844, which has been 
lying by me since April 19, 1845, there are three 
definite questions and a carte blanche, the answers 
and " filling up " of all of which would occupy more 
time and paper than I have to spare ; and, probably, 
more patience than you have to give. Perhaps I 
shall not err in answering the questions first, and 
then adding what may come uppermost, or find 
room. 

In regard to Morrison's translation of the Bible 
into Chinese, a singular misconception has long pre- 
vailed among the supporters of missions, both in 
England and America. It is not three years since 
one of the warmest, and generally speaking, one of 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 293 

the best informed friends of missions in England, 
asserted, in opposition to the united and unanimous 
voice of the Protestant Missionaries in China, that 
"Morrison's translation of the Scriptures was nearly 
perfect, and another was unnecessary." This was, 
to say the least, rather a venturesome remark from 
one who did not know a word of Chinese ! . . . 

I can answer your question, "Is the translation use- 
ful or intelligible ? " by saying it is useful, but is not 
adapted for general circulation. When we are explain- 
ing the Scripture history or doctrine in private con- 
versation, it is of use, because it is sufficiently intelli- 
gible, with such cautions and explanations as we can 
give orally, to give those with whom we speak a 
fuller idea of the truth. It is of use to give to our 
converts, for you know the converted man finds 
good when the impenitent turns away in disgust ; 
and the converts will naturally come to us for ex- 
planation. And it is also of use to those who may 
prepare a new translation. But it is not, as I think, 
adapted for general circulation, nor would I will- 
ingly give a copy to a heathen, except under favour- 
able circumstances. These same remarks apply in 
great measure to Dr. Marshman's translation, which 
was finished about the same time with Morrison's, 
and has never had an extensive circulation. 

You also ask, "What progress has been made 
towards remedying its defects?" A good deal as 
regards the New Testament ; but as it regards the 
Old, almost none. We have two other translations 
of the New Testament; one by Gutzlaff, which is 
not much used ; and another by Medhurst, assisted 
by John R. Morrison, Bridgman, and others. The 
latter is the one in common use ; and it is in general 
intelligible and good, though paraphrastic some- 
times, and far from being perfect. A number of 
the missionaries, both English and American, are 
now engaged in a revision of it; but it may be 
several years before it is completed. When the Old 
Testament will be revised and published, I have no 

25* 



294 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

idea. I hope to live to see the time, and, perhaps, 
to take some part in it, but it will not be soon. 
There is yet a great work to be done in this respect, 
and perhaps some of you may be called to assist in 
it. The translation of the Scriptures into Chinese 
is a great, difficult, and most important work, and 
the preparation of Comments and Notes upon them 
will require the labours of many men for many years. 
You can have but little idea of the strange notions 
they gather from expressions that are as common to 
us as the air we breathe. . . . 

I have gone over the Gospel of Luke very care- 
fully with my teacher, who passes for a learned 
man in Mngpo, and his mistakes and misconceptions 
have been both amusing and painful. This arises 
in part from the imperfection of the translation ; in 
part from an utter and characteristic ignorance of 
the geography and history of every other nation but 
China; in part from the use of figures and compari- 
sons unknown in China. Some people say, "The 
Bible is an Oriental book, and the Chinese are an 
Oriental people, therefore, they can easily under- 
stand it." But unfortunately the Chinese are as 
much beyond "the East" on one side as America 
is on the other ; and therefore the remark is very 
unfounded, in part from inattention and want of 
interest in the subject, and in part from the " thick 
darkness " with which idolatry and superstition have 
enshrouded even the mental, and much more the 
moral perceptions. Oh brethren! if you were here 
but a few clays, you would understand something of 
the necessity for the Spirit's influences to open the 
understanding, and pour light into the heart; and of 
the feelings of the prophet, when commanded to 
prophesy to the dry bones. Pray for us. So thick 
is the "veil of the covering cast over" the minds of 
the heathen, that were it not for what God can do, 
the Missionary enterprise would be as fantastic a 
scheme of folly as the brain of man ever devised. 
If it were not for the hope, the belief of what God 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 295 

will do, I would not be a missionary for another 
day. It requires but a few years' experience in the 
missionary field to learn that it is not talents nor 
learning, important as these are, but piety and 
prayer, that are chiefly requisite in a missionary. 
"Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, 
saith the Lord." Oh that my own heart and prac- 
tice were more deeply influenced by this conviction, 
and that the churches at home felt it more ! 

You ask for my " impressions regarding the 
climate of China." Having not yet had a full ex- 
perience of the climate so far north as my present 
residence, I cannot answer you so fully as may be 
desirable ; but what I know is briefly as follows : 
In the Canton province, and the climate at Ainoy 
is not materially different, warm weather prevails 
for nine months in the year; of which four or five 
are oppressive, while the months of December, 
January, and February, are pleasant and cool. 
The natives and the Portuguese at Macao do not 
use fires in their houses, but the English and Ame- 
ricans find them very agreeable. During three 
years, the lowest I ever saw the thermometer was 
45°, while it generally in the cool weather ranged 
between 50° and 60° of Fahrenheit. I never used 
a cloak but once or twice, except in my room, 
where, as I sat without a fire, it was needful. In 
the long warm seasons my health suffered, and I 
became languid and thinner than usual, in August 
and September. Most persons suffer in the same 
way, but the winter, or rather the cool weather, 
for ice and snow are almost never seen, is invigora- 
ting, and many enjoy better health than in their 
own land. I consider the climate at Macao and 
Canton as decidedly healthy; and excepting the 
indisposition above referred to, which, however, 
never confined me a whole day to the couch, I never 
was better at home. The circumstances which have 
made Amoy and Hong Kong unhealthy, I do not 
think will have a permanent influence; nor should 



296 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

I have the slightest hesitation or fear in going to 
either of these places. It would seem, however, 
from facts already observed, that northern men bear 
the climate better than southern, though reasoning 
a priori many would think differently. 

In Shanghai and Ningpo, the climate is different. 
We have pleasant, cool, and cold weather, for nine 
months, and warm weather for three, July and August, 
and parts of June and September. Of the warm wea- 
ther six weeks are uncomfortably hot, if anything, 
worse than at Macao. I have not yet had the plea- 
sure of experiencing the cold weather here in its per- 
fection, though I retain a vivid recollection of the cold- 
ness of my fingers and ears on approaching Shanghai 
in March, when the cold weather was nearly over, 
and of the strange sensations excited, by seeing 
my breath come out in thick steam, and sleeping 
under a load of bed-clothes, things to which I had 
been a stranger for more than three years. The 
thermometer falls below 25° ; ice and snow are seen 
every winter ; and fur clothes, which are cheap and 
good, are worn to an extent that would surprise you. 
Yet even here, the inhabitants do not use fires, but 
content themselves with abundance of cotton gar- 
ments, (ten and fifteen jackets worn at once are not 
uncommon,) wadded clothes, and furs, with small 
foot-stoves, and finger-stoves. But I do not see 
how we can do without fires. The climate is sub- 
ject to frequent and considerable changes. I have 
seen the thermometer rise from 34° to 84° in a few 
days in March, and fall back to 40° in forty hours ; 
and after experiencing warm weather in June, I 
have put on woollen stockings in July. A fall of 
twenty degrees in a few hours is not uncommon, 
and is sensibly felt. It is now quite cool, the ther- 
mometer being below sixty, except in the middle of 
the day ; and the merchants' shops present a busy 
and rich scene, from the quantity of fine furs dis- 
played in them. I am looking forward with some 
interest to the return of snow and ice ; things which 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 297 

I have not seen for nearly four years. My im- 
pressions of the climate of Ningpo are very favour- 
able, though the last summer being cooler than 
usual, did not afford a very good opportunity of 

knowing precisely what it is There 

are also two or three disagreeably damp seasons in 
the summer, of two or three weeks' continuance, 
when rain pours down in torrents ; and if it does 
not rain, you feel as if the very air was damp and 
cloudy ; and the perspiration will gather on the 
stones in the wall, even when the sun is shining 
outside. Such weather is hard on books, clothes, 
and animal spirits ; but it is of short continuance. 

We get plenty to eat here, but not a very great 
variety, as the inhabitants have not yet learned to 
provide for foreigners, as they have at Macao and 
Canton. Goat's flesh, pork, hams, chickens, ducks, 
and geese, are our principal meats ; though in win- 
ter, wild-ducks, pheasants, and hares, are cheaper 
than anything else. Fish of several kinds we have 
all the year round ; wheat, rice, and a little buck- 
wheat, form the stall" of life ; sweet potatoes, tur- 
nips, egg-plants, bean sprouts, bamboo sprouts, taro, 
beans, peas, Kaou-bah, onions, and greens, are our 
chief vegetables ; and for fruits we have peaches, 
pears, plums, lichees, persimmons, pomegranates, 
and oranges, with walnuts, chestnuts, and pea-nuts. 
You will say, " This is a goodly list." True, and we 
are thankful to enjoy so many of God's good gifts 
here ; nor do we complain when we remember that 
few of them are so good as those you eat in the 
United States ; whilst beef, such at least as may 
be called good, Irish potatoes, and apples, are sel- 
dom seen. I have tasted none of either in many 
months, nor apples, which are worth all the oranges 
of China, for years ; nor do we get all these things 
at once. I find in my market-book, (for we bache- 
lors have to attend to such things ourselves often- 
times,) that for weeks together, Dr. McCartee and 
I sat down together to a table ; of which the chief 



298 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

dishes were, chickens, or fish, bamboo sprouts, tur- 
nips, and bean sprouts, with bread, rice and eggs. 
It is hard to say what we should do without eggs. 
When the egg-plants came we were delighted, and 
when the sweet potatoes were fit to eat, we were 
satisfied ! The married missionaries do not fare 
any better than we bachelors, though they doubtless 
have some things nicer ! 

For the _ particularity of the above statements, I 
do not think it necessary to make any apology, 
though the pronoun " I," occurs with a frequency 
that is somewhat startling ; perhaps it may be some 
excuse, that they are written in answer to the ques- 
tion, " What are my impressions ?" 

Your last question, " The magnitude of the field 
and the prospects of the mission ?" is one on which 
a volume might be written, but the space already 
consumed warns me to be brief, the more so as I 
may have an occasion hereafter to refer to it. I 
can only say this : Few have any idea of the extent 
of the ground that is opened and opening to our 
labours, and none know where the things will end, 
whose beginnings we have lived to witness. The 
opening of China to foreign intercourse, is an event 
which finds few parallels in the history of the world. 
This country is a world in itself; and the thought 
has often occurred to me, while traversing its beau- 
tiful plains and crowded streets, "What a world 
has been revolving here of which Christendom knows 
nothing !" I have been led to make excursions of 
twenty or thirty miles into the interior, from each 
of the cities of Amoy, Shanghai, and Ningpo, and 
everywhere the country is like a vast beehive, 
swarming with inhabitants. It is the same about 
Canton, where I have also been, and doubtless the 
same about Foo-chow. I have not known what it 
is to be out of sight of a human habitation since I 
have been in China, and where there is one there are 
commonly ten. I have scarcely ever seen a little 
valley, or a hollow among the hills, where industry 



MEMOIR OP WALTER M. LOWRIE. 299 

could cultivate a bed of rice, or a crop of greens, 
that was not occupied. It is scarcely an exagge- 
ration to say, that temples and monasteries are as 
common here as farm-houses in Pennsylvania, and I 
have seen the streets of Ningpo crowded with many 
ten thousands of people, to see an idolatrous pro- 
cession in honour of " all the gods." Now all this 
vast and teeming population of idolaters must have 
the gospel, or perish. Books will not do the work. 
It is the living teacher who must speak unto them 
the words of life. Such is the field we cultivate. 
As to our prospects, you have them in the concluding 
verses of Psalm cxxvi. : 

They that sow in tears, 

With shoutings shall gather the harvest. 

Going he shall go, even with weeping, burdened with the seed to be 

sown : 
Coming he shall come, and with shouting, burdened with his sheaves. 

It is nearly midnight, and I must draw to a close 
without referring to other topics, which, if this letter 
were not already full enough, might be of interest. 
Full notices of the mission you will probably see 
in the Chronicle before long, and I have omitted 
them here. 

Brethren, whatever your own course may be, 
whether to come to the missionary field, or to cul- 
tivate the vineyard of the Lord at home, there is 
one thing we pray you to bear in mind, " It is 
God who giveth the increase," and if success do 
not attend one's labour, the reason will probably 
be found in the fact that He is not inquired of by 
his people respecting this thing, to do it for them. 
Pray for us. 

I am yours in the bonds of the Gospel, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



300 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 



Ningpo, December 5th, 1845. 
My Dear Father — .... I have my commen- 
tary on Luke, which with the text will make a 
handsome volume of a hundred pages, ready for the 
press, and trust it will be of use. The style is pure 
and good Chinese, for it is written by my teacher, 
and I know the sentiments to be correct, though 
sometimes not as full or clear as I could have 
wished. My teacher said to me, I suppose, twenty 
times while preparing it, " How can you expect us 
to understand this book ? /do not understand it, 
who have been reading books all my life, and how 
can less learned persons comprehend it?" The 
doctrines, historical allusions, geography, customs, 
e. g., washing the feet, comparisons, everything is 
strange ; and when joined to an imperfect transla- 
tion, it is not to be thought that a careless heathen 
can understand such a book. At the risk of being 
thought a heretic, I must say I think the oft-re- 
peated phrase, " The Bible without note or com- 
ment," is in danger of being pushed so far, as to 
fall over and do harm. However true it is and 
correct under limitations, it is not correct in itself. 
It is not true in fact, that our people at home read 
it " without note or comment; ' for there is no one 
who does not hear many a note and comment from 
parent, teacher, friend or minister, and there are few 
who do not form their opinions of most of it from 
such " notes and comments." If these and innu- 
merable commentaries besides, are needed in a land 
of so much light as America, what must be the 
case in China ? " Without note and comment " is 
true, so far as authoritative and infallible exposition 
is intended ; and also, if it be meant that the sim- 
ple text, when understood, is to be carefully studied 
and pondered in the Christian hours of devotion; 
but I humbly conceive there is danger if it be ex- 
tended much beyond these limits. However, I 
ought to reflect that you have thought on the sub- 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 301 

ject long enough not to need such a c f lesson " from 
me I was deeply grieved to hear of the ac- 
cident you met with but thankful it was no worse. 
How many strange accidents we miss, within a 
hair's-breadth of them, though unawares. We shall 
doubtless often wonder when we get to heaven, and 
look back on our past life, that amidst so many 
dangers it was prolonged so long. 

.... After a good deal of thought, I am about 
settling down to the opinion, that I ought to aim at 
a pretty full knowledge of books and writing in 
Chinese. In a mission so large as ours, and where 
we have a press, there must be some one tolerably 
at home on some points. Now, I have been so cir- 
cumstanced, as to be obliged to turn my thoughts 
much that way, somewhat to the disadvantage of 
my speaking fluently, and I am so still. I have laid 
such a foundation of acquaintance with the written 
language, as enables me to go on with some ease, 
and such as the other brethren can scarcely be ex- 
pected to do in some time. They are accordingly 
outstripping me in the colloquial, though I have 
the advantage in the books, and can easily keep it 
up. My education and previous habits are also 
such as fit me more for this than for mingling 
among men, unless actually obliged to do so. 1 
propose, therefore, not to neglect the colloquial, but 
to lay out a good portion of my strength on reading 
and writing Chinese ; keeping in view, chiefly, the 
translation of the Scriptures, and works explana- 
tory of them, and perhaps the preparation of ele- 
mentary books, and it may be a dictionary, a thing 
we are greatly in want of. What do you think of 
this plan ? You will not think I mean to neglect 
the great work of preaching, for I trust to be able 
in the course of next year to undertake regular ser- 
vices. I might do it now, if I had no accounts to 
keep, letters to write, and advice and assistance to 
give to others, especially in the matter of the print- 
ing office. That you may see how much I have 

26 



302 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRLE. 

been hindered one way and another since coming to 
China, I may say that though it is nearly four years 
since I left you, yet I have had a teacher, and by 
consequence have been studying the language effec- 
tively, only twenty-three months, and of those, three 
are hardly worth counting from the interruptions 
I met. I sometimes felt quite discouraged, and 
now feel ashamed to think I have been here so 
long, and done so little. . . . 

With many affectionate remembrances and 
prayers, 

I am, as ever, your affectionate son, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



CHAPTER VII, 

1846. 



Missionary Labours at Ningpo—Heathen Customs— Superstitious Fears — 
Preaching in Chinese. 

During this year the missions in China were 
further strengthened by the arrival at Canton of 
the Rev. John B. French, and the Rev. William 
Spear and his wife, and at Ningpo, of the Rev. J. 
W. Quarterman. The British troops were this year 
withdrawn from Chusan, and as the Chinese author- 
ities would not permit foreigners to reside there, 
Mr. Loomis and his wife removed to Ningpo. 

Mr. Lowrie's study of the Chinese language, 
while in Macao, as already stated, was much inter- 
rupted by the business matters of the different mis- 
sions. The Mandarin dialect, which he studied at 
Macao, is not spoken in the south of China, and 
hence he could converse in it with his teacher only. 
This he found to be a serious disadvantage. The 
Ningpo and Mandarin dialects are as different from 
each other as the French is from the Spanish. In 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 303 

learning to speak the former, he had therefore to 
begin anew, with the advantage however of hearing 
it daily spoken by the inhabitants. But here also his 
time was a good deal taken up with the business of 
the Ningpo Mission, and correcting the proof-sheets 
of works issued from the press. So many, and such 
long-continued adverse circumstances, at times al- 
most produced discouragement in his own mind, as 
it regarded the spoken language. But even in it 
his progress was not slow; in less than eighteen 
months he commenced preaching in Chinese. His 
knowledge of the written language was more satis- 
factory to himself. In August he wrote several 
essays, which were published in the Chinese Reposi- 
tory, on the proper Chinese words to be used in trans- 
lating the name of God into Chinese. These were 
among the first pieces that were published on the 
side of the question so ably sustained since by Doc- 
tors Boone and Bridgman. 

In September he commenced the preparation of 
a dictionary of the " Four Books," and afterwards 
he decided to include also the "Five Classics.' , 
These books contain the body of the Chinese lan- 
guage, and if his life had been spared, he would, 
no doubt, have made it a dictionary of the whole 
language. He became much interested in this 
work, and had even to guard himself against be- 
ing drawn aside from his appropriate work of 
preaching the gospel. 

The letters and journals of this period throw 
much light on the interior working of the mission 
at Ningpo, and still further tend to elucidate the 
state and condition of the native population. Other 
subjects are occasionally adverted to. One of much 
importance, in relation to the return of missionaries, 
is noticed in a letter to one of the members of the 
Executive Committee. It would be out of place 
here to examine the views there presented ; but the 
whole subject is worthy of far more consideration 
than it has yet received from the Church at home. 



304 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

About this time his views on the Millennium un- 
derwent a change. After examining the subject, he 
was led to embrace the opinion that our blessed 
Lord would personally appear on the earth, before 
the blessings promised concerning the Church 
would be fulfilled. His views on the subject, 
however, conflicted in no degree with the present 
duty of the Church to preach the gospel to all the 
world ; and that as the Millennium would not come 
till the gospel was so preached, it was an additional 
inducement to Christian effort, in tending to hasten 
the glories of the latter days. He held these views 
calmly to the last; and when he spoke or wrote on 
the subject, it was without bitterness, and more 
with a view to present the spiritual than the contro- 
versial aspect of the questions involved. 



Ningpo, January 1st, 1846. 

A happy New Year to you, my dear mother, and 
very many of them ! is a wish that, if I had the 
power, would certainly be accomplished ; and yet, 
though I might have the power, I might not have the 
wisdom necessary to make it a blessing. So I will 
change it to the prayer, that He who knows what is 
best for us, and loves us far better than any earthly 
friend can love another, would give you such length 
of days, and such enjoyment therein as will make 
you most useful here, and most blessed hereafter. 
New Year's morning ! Although it be only an arbi- 
trary distinction that makes this day more impor- 
tant than any other of the year, for each day is the 
point of "confluence of two eternities," yet con- 
sent has erected it into a sort of elevation to look 
back over the past, so rapidly fading from view, and 
to strain our weak eyes into the unknown future. 
How little we can know of the one, and how feebly 
we estimate the importance of the other ! 

Although I always look forward to the New 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 305 

Year with some such feelings as these, yet it always 
takes me by surprise, and I find it difficult in looking 
back to the last one to realize the events that have 
occurred and passed away. How many events must 
have occurred in your larger circle of friends ! Here, 
few as are those I know, yet I find strange alterations 
in the last year. A fellow-passenger in the Huntress 
(Mr. King) died, and was buried in the Red Sea. 
One of my warmest friends, Mrs. Sword, has been 
called home. She was always exceedingly afraid 
to die, and yet when called away, though fully 
sensible of it, fear had entirely departed, and peace 
reigned. It makes me feel desolate sometimes 
to think of such friends departing, and she is not 
the only one whom the last year has removed me 
from, though the others are not dead, but only 
farther off, and to remember again that I am a 
stranger in the earth ; but then it is pleasant, too, 
for the separation is but temporary. I have no pa- 
tience with those stoics who maintain that we shall 
not know our friends in heaven. Certainly the 
Spirit of Christ alone would fill our cup of joy even 
to overflowing, but why should not those who in 
tears and temptations and prayers served him here, 
and encouraged each other in the upward course, re- 
joice with joy unspeakable together there? We 
shall remember the way by which we were led 
through this "great and terrible wilderness," and 
shall we forget the kind words spoken, the cup of 
water, the look of affection and encouragement 
more eloquent than words, and more soothing than 
the sweetest harmony ? I do not believe it. Christ 
said to his disciples that those who had "continued 
with him in his temptations," should sit with him 
in his glory, and if we hold communion with Him 
in this respect, why not with one another? We 
shall have bodies as well as souls in heaven, " spirit- 
ual" it is true, but "bodies" still; we shall have 
human affections, too, freed from all sin ; and if such 
affections form our sweetest and most satisfying 

26* 



306 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

solace here, what will they be there ? But I did 
not mean to write all this, for I was thinking of other 
things when I commenced. 

Here I am, after voyaging and tossing about 
again on the rough sea. I am now settled down in 
the field I have long been looking to. I have made 
some little progress in the language, and begin to 
feel at home among the people ; but shall I remain 
here ? I do not know why it is, but I seem con- 
stantly to have a voice saying, "Arise, this is not 
your rest !" Nor should I be surprised at any time 
to receive an order to depart. Yet as such feelings 
are not the rule by which we are to be guided, I 
endeavour to work on as if this were to be my 
earthly home; and be my abode long or short, to 
be in readiness when He comes, whose coming will 
not tarry. 

My teacher has just come in, and knowing that 
this is our new year, he has been cogitating a salu- 
tation for me, which was as follows, Seen sang, skangte 
pongdzooe ne taon teendong clieaw, "Sir, may God 
assist you and enable you to arrive at heaven !" I 
was not a little surprised and gratified too, for I 
never heard him utter such a sentiment before. Oh 
that the wish, which in politeness he made for me, 
were fulfilled in reality to him ! If he were but a 
Christian, or if I might but see him one, it seems to 
me I should almost be ready to depart in peace; for 
his talents and acquirements are such, that if they 
were sanctified they would be invaluable. But alas, 
he is proud of his learning, temporizing in his policy, 
and averse to know the plague of his own heart. 
The doctrine of human depravity, he cannot away 
with ; it is a very abomination to him, and after all 
the instructions he has received, if he repents not, 
how much greater will be his condemnation ! I fear 
we shall prove a "savour of death unto death," to 
more than we shall be the means of saving, in this 
land. . . . 

Believe me, as ever, yours in kind remembrances, 
And sincere affection, W. M. Lowrie. 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 307 



Ningpo, April 21st, 1846. 

Rev. John Lloyd — My Dear Brother: — It is 
now near four months since I wrote to you, but you 
will believe me when I say, that if I have not 
written I have at least not forgotten you, and often 
try to remember you, where I trust you remember 
me, at a throne of grace. I could give you the 
usual string of apologies; Chinese, reading proofs, 
keeping accounts, answering letters ; but I fear if I 
did so, it would make you think I was doing a great 
deal, when in fact weeks pass away and I seem to 
have done nothing, to have really made no progress, 
and have to cry out for mercy to the unprofitable 
servant. How would Calvin, or men of half his 
mind, smile at the idea of all I do being called work ! 
I fancy that hundreds of men do as much before 
breakfast as I do in a whole day. 1 find it a very 
serious drawback in my study and acquirement of 
the language, that so much of the best part of my 
missionary life was spent where the dialect I was 
studying was not spoken. Although I know more 
of books than any other here, yet McCartee speaks 
incomparably better than I do, and both Culbertson 
and Loomis will probably be preaching before me. 
What in the world should I do among the "tones" 
of your delightful dialect? I fancy^ I should be 
among them like a certain Presbyterian clergyman, 
who attempted to conduct the Episcopal service 
once, and had it reported of him afterwards that 
" he wandered up and down among the prayers, like 
a blind man among the tombs." 

This reminds me that in your last you speak of 
our having no tones in this dialect. This is to a 
great extent, but not entirely, the case. The tones 
are necessary in some words ; but generally speak- 
ing, if you get the idiomatic expression, you need 
not bother your head about the tones ; and none 
of us pay any theoretical attention whatever to their 
acquisition. It is a pretty good proof of their not 



308 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

being necessary, that the Fuhkeen men, of whom 
there are many here, cannot learn to speak this dia- 
lect well. The remark is often made that "you 
foreigners speak Ningpo dialect better than the 
Fuhkeen people ;" and imperfect as my acquirements 
are in speaking, I have been told a dozen times that 
I pronounce better than the Fuhkeen men. If I 
could only get among the people, and not see a 
book or a foreigner for six months or a year, I 
think there would be some hopes ; and I often half 
wish some person would run away with me, and 
keep me captive for a while, for otherwise I do not 
see how I am to get away. Well, all this is egot- 
ism, and much of it is nonsense ; but I beg you to 
receive it as a proof how much I care for you, 
that I let you see such effusions, and how much 
I do not care for you, or I would not let you see 
them. 

I have just been interrupted by a long talk from 
a couple of Chinese, who talked so fast that the 
words came out like a mill-stream, and all I could 
do was to gather the drift of their discourse and 
let the particular words vanish into thin air. I 
wish I could talk as much as I can understand ! 
But patience, perseverance, and prayer ! Oh to be 
kept from growing weary or careless in God's work ! 
I did not feel afraid of this in the first year or 
two ; but now it requires much watchfulness and 

Erayer, lest I become weary or discouraged. You 
ave much reason for thankfulness that you got to 
your field so soon, and have not quite so many 
letters to write, as I had during my first two years ; 
but I ought not to complain of them, for it was my 
appointed work, since the providence of God re- 
peatedly prevented me from taking any other course, 
and perhaps it was the best on the whole. But as 
I look over my past life, and especially that part 
spent in the missionary ground, I have to pray, 
" pardon the unprofitable, erring, sinful servant !" 
It is so late, having been so interrupted by the 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 309 

conversation above referred to, that I must close 
my sheet for the night, hoping to be able to 
finish to-morrow, though I know not when a let- 
ter can be sent from here. If the overland route 
answers, we will try and send in that way. 

I think Mr. Smith has led you into a mistake, on 
the point of the "two dialects." As far as I know, 
in all parts of China, the written and the colloquial 
dialects differ so widely as to be really two lan- 
guages. This is the case here, for Mngpo colloquial 
cannot be written with Chinese characters. True, 
many words, perhaps one-half, are the same in the 
two ; but you never can tell from seeing a character 
in a book whether it can be used in speaking, unless 
your teacher tells you. Jin is spoken nying ; urh tz 
is spoken 'ny tz ; ehay-ko is spoken kihko, while Jbo- 
tsze which is book Mandarin, and chay-yang which is 
colloquial Mandarin, meaning, " so fashion," or " in 
this way," in one dialect is sz -ka-go, which cannot be 
written at all, i. e., has no characters to express it; 
though characters might be arbitrarily employed, 
which would give the sound. This is the case with 
hundreds of words in common use % 

I was both pleased and surprised to hear how 
much missionary work is done in Amoy. Would 
that we could report the half of it here ! But ex- 
cept tract distributing, at which we all do a little, 
there is no preaching excepting by Dr. McCartee, 
who has a service every Sabbath, and talks to the 
people frequently during the week. I have tried 
once or twice, but, like the man who tried to swim 
before he had been in the water, succeeded so poorly, 
that I feel afraid to try again. I conduct service 
with my servants morning and evening, and hope I 
shall soon be able to set up a meeting which might 
be called "a parish meeting," i. e., not a regular 
preaching service, but a preparatory one, which will 
prepare me for preaching. I have been much thrown 
back by not having been able to get a teacher on 
whom I could depend for giving me the colloquial 



310 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

expressions. The one I had for nine months after 
coming was a capital scholar, but proud, disobliging, 
or rather unobliging, and took no interest in anything 
of the kind. After bearing with him till I could 
bear no longer, 1 turned him off and got another, 
who was so stupid that I kept him only a month. 
Yesterday I got a new one, and he has taken such 
"strong hold' as quite astonishes me. "A new 
broom sweeps clean ;" but this man is a scholar, ap- 
pears to be a gentleman, is quite obliging, lively, 
fatient, apt to teach, and on two days' acquaintance 
am greatly pleased. I hope he will hold out, but 
I greatly fear. If he does well, and if he becomes 
a Christian, Oh, how I should rejoice ! With a good 
teacher, who was a real Christian, I think I might 
be of very much more use than I am now. 

You speak of " feeling as safe as if in New York 
or Philadelphia." I feel the same here. I live a 
mile from any foreigner, and have frequently walked 
two miles through the city after eight or nine o'clock, 
p. m., without a lantern or any company, with less 
apprehension than I would go through many parts 
of New York city. The people here are generally 
very well behaved, and very civil. 

As to mandarins, we see none of them; we do not 
visit them, and are not visited by them. The Eng- 
lish consul has discouraged visiting, and foreigners, 
except officers, seldom go near them. There is a 
white-buttoned one whom Dr. McCartee and I have 
called on, and been called on by; and last year we 
had frequent calls from travelling mandarins with 
gilt and white buttons, who came to see the stran- 
gers ; but of late I have seen none, and do not feel 
any anxiety to meet them. You get in with them 
at Amoy, because of the important fact that Abeel 
and Boone and Cummings have had to act as inter- 
preters, when there were none but missionaries to in- 
terpret, and as the mandarins of course know of no 
difference between you and others, they keep up the 
acquaintance. 



MEMOIR OP WALTER M. LOWRIE. 311 

We are all moving on very quietly and pleasantly. 
The weather is getting pleasantly warm, but even 
yet I like to sit with my fur coat on in the mornings 
and evenings, and have as yet laid aside neither 
flannels nor woollen stockings. It has rained almost 
every day this month, and in consequence of so 
much rain now, and the probability of very little 
next month, when it will be much wanted, tears of 
a scarcity of rice prevail, and it is already rising in 
price. As to ships, there has not been one here, 
except men of war, since last August. I do not 
know how we are to get our funds after Chusan is 
given up. Our letters we shall manage to get over- 
land from Shanghai. 

We have bought a hurying-ground here, about one 
hundred feet by fifty, for fifty dollars. Abraham's 
first possession in the land where he was a stranger, 
was a burying-ground. 

Your brother in Christ. 

W. M. Lowrie. 



Ningpo, July 9th, 1846. 
My Dear Father — Your two most acceptable let- 
ters of November, 1845, and February, 1846, came, 
one in the end of May, and the other to-day. I 
cannot tell you how much I am obliged for your 
good long letters : the journals of your trips to 
Washington and to Albany, were deeply interesting. 
I wish 1 could give you an account of half as much 
done by myself, but all my performances seem to 
me of small account. Here is a specimen of to-day's 
employment. Rose before six. Our nights are 
w T arm, and following on warmer days, I do not de- 
rive the refreshment from them that I could wish. 
After breakfast and prayers, went over the river to 
see after the printing office, got a proof to correct, 
and came back ; it was ten o'clock when I got home, 
and thermometer then at 90° ; sat down with my 



312 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

teacher and went over Acts xvii., on which he wrote 
comments by my explanations. Then read some in 
Mencius, and looked over some points in Chinese 
history, and some notices of two or three of their 
sages. By this time it was one o'clock, and the 
thermometer had risen to 98° in my coolest room. 
I was pretty well tired, and told my teacher that 
was enough for to-day; came up stairs, corrected 
the proof for the press, and finished the first draught 
of a letter, one of a series which I am preparing for 
the Foreign Missionary. This and dinner kept me 
till three o'clock; all this time the thermometer at 
blood heat; and though a pleasant breeze blowing, 
yet coming in at times as if out of a furnace. I 
nave never known such warm weather since I have 
been in China, and it so relaxes the whole system, 
that a very little labour is quite sufficient to lay a 
man by. At three I felt so tired that I lay down, 
and between reading a little and dozing, whiled away 
the time till five ; then got up, found it a little cooler, 
sat in the breeze and read an account of the synod 
of Dort till six. Went out then for a walk; went 
through a number of streets, and found everybody 
out of doors, men all half naked, and many of the 
children entirely so, and the heat given out from the 
stones and houses so great as to be very oppressive. 
This, and the foul odours arising from the filth com- 
mon to every Chinese city, were such that I was 
glad to get on the city wall, and turn my steps home- 
ward. Somewhat of a breeze on the wall, and get- 
ting to my own house about sunset, I sat down to 
enjoy it. Presently a man came along and seemed 
anxious to say something; so he asked if I would 
take a smoke. I told him, no, I did not smoke, and 
asked him to sit down. Then he asked how old I 
was. Where I came from. Where I lived, &c. &c. 
By this time others came, one, two, five, ten, and 
soon there were about fifty persons collected to see 
and hear the Hungnan-nying, (Red-haired man, as 
they call all Englishmen.) Asked a good many 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 313 

questions, and in the course of the talk, gave me an 
opportunity of saying several things very pointedly 
about the folly of idolatry, the importance of attend- 
ing to one's soul, and the way of salvation through 
Christ. Speaking of Jesus, one of the men re- 
marked that he supposed Jesus was much such a 
person as Confucius. "No, Confucius was only a 
man, but Christ was far superior to men." Was 
listened to with as much attention and interest as I 
have been at any time, and found it gave me some 
access to them, when they found that I had read 
and could give the sense of their own books. There 
was one man there from Shangtung, but I could un- 
derstand very little of what he said. He seemed, 
however, to have no difficulty in understanding all I 
said, and seemed much interested. Gave away 
some tracts ; gave a copy of " The Two Friends" to 
one whose appearance had pleased me. He looked 
at it and asked if all I had were alike, and begged 
for a copy of another kind. Came away, all of them 
giving me a hearty good-lye, and one or two joining 
their hands and thanking me for the books and doc- 
trine. Came back home, got my tea, and sat down 
to this letter, which I suppose will take all the rest 
of the evening. The thermometer is now down to 
91°. I am sitting in a thin grass-cloth suit, and 
feeling comparatively comfortable after the hot day. 
In some of my previous letters, I have probably 
given you to understand that I was much discouraged 
about learning to speak this language. This arose 
in a measure from the unfaithfulness of a teacher 
whom I employed after coming here. For a while 
I learned a good deal, and as he was a capital scholar, 
I wanted to keep him. But after being with me a 
few months he found out what words I knew, and 
would use no others, so that during the last four 
months I had him, I scarcely learned a new phrase. 
I disliked to turn him off, because in some things he 
suited me admirably, being good at explaining the 
classics, and besides he was poor : but at last I could 

27 



314 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

endure it no longer. It was then nearly two months 
before I could get a good teacher. If I could go 
about as some others can, I should be less depen- 
dent on a teacher, but my disposition does not lead 
me to delight in promiscuous company ; and some- 
how I have the knack of getting a large share of 
the writing, book-keeping, proof-correcting, &c, of 
the mission into my hands, which gives me less time 
than I could wish for visiting and going about. 
However, I have been favoured in getting a first-rate 
teacher, and have gained so much in the last two 
months as quite encourages me ; and it is my pre- 
sent expectation (Deo volente) to commence a re- 
gular religious service in Chinese when the warm 
weather is over. I might do it now, but prefer not 
undertaking what would necessarily require a good 
deal of labour in preparation, until the present op- 
pressive season is past; and in the mean time, go 
about a little and talk as I did to-night, which is a 
help in perfecting my pronunciation, and enabling 
me to speak without embarrassment. In the course 
of the present year, I hope we shall have several of 
our number actively employed in preaching. 

... I quite agree with you in the general princi- 
le, that a wife should not always take her husband 
ome. Still in many cases, a wife cannot go alone. 

Dr. and Mrs. H (of the London Missionary 

Society) went home last year on account of her healtn, 
and she died before she got to England. Mrs. J. 
S went without her husband, and took her chil- 
dren; (five or six, one very young;) she died on the 
voyage. I have not heard how the children got 
home. It is this that makes it sa difficult for a wo- 
man to go alone. Few missionaries have left China 
of late for their health, till they were well nigh broken 
down, and it requires no small resolution to send off 
a sick wife on a long voyage, especially if she have 
children to take care of. What is to be done ? For 
a while I was tempted to wish that missionaries 
could live without wives; but after more experience 



I 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 315 

and reflection, I am satisfied that all men cannot re- 
ceive this saying. Even if unmarried men could be 
contented and happy, yet there are other, and se- 
rious objections. I have seen more than one or two 
cases in which I thought the bachelor missionary, 
merry and cheerful as he professed to be, would 
have been not simply a happier man, but a more hu- 
mane, thoughtful, sober, useful missionary, and a far 
better example to the heathen, if he had been mar- 
ried ; and where example is of such vital importance 
as it is here, whatever conduces to render it better, 

is not to be overlooked 

Your affectionate and obedient son, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



Ningpo, August 10th, 1846. 

Rev. John C. Lowrie — My Dear Brother : — . . . I 
heard of Mr. Dod's death, but had not heard of Mrs. 
P.'s. How many gaps there are already in the cir- 
cle of my acquaintances at home! You will not 
perceive it so much as you are constantly making 
new ones, but mine are only decreasing : so be it. 
"lama stranger in the earth," and never so happy 
as when I feel it most. 

This has been an oppressingly hot summer. I 
will send you a notice of it soon. I doubt whether 
you saw the equal of it in India. For days together 
we have had the thermometer up to 100°, but most 
providentially, it always fell 12° or 14° at night. 
June, July, and the first week of this month were 
roasters ; but the worst is over now, and it felt quite 
delicious to-day when the thermometer got up only 
to 88£°. Then we have had a drought all summer; 
rumours of poisoning ; alarms of evil spirits, and an 
earthquake, a veritable earthquake, which shook the 
houses right merrily, and wakened every man, wo- 
man and child in Mngpo. Such screaming! and 
beating of gongs ! and firing of crackers ! I will 



316 MEMOIK OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

send you accounts of all these presently. I have 
them all in my journal. The earthquake was on the 
4th instant, about three o'clock, a. m. It did no 
harm, but it frightened the people terribly, especially 
as they were then under extreme alarm, from a panic 
occasioned by the belief that there are thousands of 
evil spirits bent on mischief in the city. With all 
the melancholy arising from seeing them so wholly 
given up to such superstition, it is yet most ludicrous 
to see what tales they can invent. The panic is 
dying away now, but when we found the people 
giving credence to such tales, we began to fear that 
evil might come out of it. There is no joke in it, 
however, for Mr. and Mrs. Loomis have just come 
over from Chusan, not being allowed to remain there, 
and can get no house here, on account of the panic 
and fear of evil spirits, which are supposed to nave 
some connection with foreigners. ... 
Pray for me, and believe me ever, 

Your affectionate brother, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



Ningpo, August 26th, 1846. 

My Dear Father — . . . . Our excessive hot wea- 
ther is now over, and though the days are sometimes 
warm, the nights are delightful, and we are all in 
the enjoyment of excellent health. My appetite and 
strength are returning rapidly, and the summer, not- 
withstanding my fears in June, has been the most 
comfortable I have spent in China. I have not done 
much for two months past, however, for it is really 
too much labour to study or work with the ther- 
mometer at blood-heat. 

Of late, I have been busily engaged in collating 
notes and quotations, on the proper word for express- 
ing the name of the Supreme Being, in Chinese. The 
weight of authority, i. e., most of the most learned 
missionaries, have given their influence in favour of 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 317 

using Shang-te, but many others dislike the term ex- 
ceedingly, as being the proper name of the chief 
Chinese god ; and when we use it, the people at once 
say, "oh yes, that's our Shang-te." I have satis- 
fied myself pretty well that Shin is the proper word 
to use. ... If this word is adopted, it will then 
become almost necessary to use the word Poo sa in 
colloquial, though many have taken up a strange 
prejudice against the word, as if it meant an idol, 
and was a contemptuous or dishonourable term. 
Nothing can be more contrary to the fact, and I 
have found myself in my efforts to talk to the peo- 
ple, almost compelled to use it, there being no other 
term in the language which expresses so well and 
so intelligibly, what we mean by God. It is a little 
troublesome in preparing articles of this kind, not to 
have the proper books at hand for reference. My 
library is, I believe, the best in Ningpo, (unless Mr. 

T has a better, which I doubt,) but I found it 

quite insufficient for my wants, as I know of several 
books which would have materially helped me, but 
had them not. 

Everything goes on very pleasantly and harmo- 
niously in the mission ; but the great things, life, 
and vigour, and zeal, are lamentably wanting. How 
easy it is, even for the missionary, to seek for plea- 
sure in everything but in God. I am often cast 
down, and sometimes deeply discouraged, to find in 
me so little love for my Saviour, and so little dispo- 
sition to active exertion. Instead of coming nearer 
and nearer, and being more conformed to God, I 
seem to be going farther and farther away. I trust 
that no one else here is so low or so useless as I 
often feel myself to be. The sense of my own worth- 
lessness often makes me unwilling to send for such 
things in the way of books as I need, (and there is 
very little else that I feel any want of,) and even 
unwilling to receive all the kind presents and letters 
that are sent to me. Oh, for more purity, and zeal, 

27* 



318 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

and love — to be like Christ ! Do not cease to pray 
for my spiritual well-being. 

Believe me as ever, your affectionate son, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



Ningpo, September 3d, 1846. 
My Dear Mother — The clock has struck eleven, 
and I ought to be in bed, but I feel as if I wanted 
to write to you, though I do not know that I have 
much to say. I was writing a sermon this evening 
to preach on the next Sabbath, for I still write ser- 
mons occasionally, and getting it finished before 
eight o'clock, I was a little at a loss to know what 
to do, for I did not feel like reading or studying 
after that. So I took out a package containing the 
letters received from father and you, during the 
first two years of my life in China. Getting inter- 
ested, I kept at them till nearly eleven o'clock, and 
then felt as if I wanted to thank you more heartily 
than I had ever done for all your affection, and sym- 
pathy, and kindness to me. Of course I could not 
read them all over, but I glanced over each, and read 
parts of them, and many a tear fell as I recalled the 
scenes through which I had passed, and your deep 
sympathies with me. It is good to weep sometimes, 
and I often wish I could weep more over my own 
sinfulness and uselessness. It is nearly five years 
since I have seen you; sometimes I catch myself 
asking, " Shall I see you again ?" and then again, 
" But how is it possible ?" I was discouraged a few 
months ago, for fear I never would learn this lan- 
guage, but for the last seven months I have made 
such progress that I should be loath on any account 
to leave this field of labour. I think now my pros- 
pects of acquiring a pretty thorough and extensive 
knowledge of it are quite fair ; and if so, then here 
is my field, and here would I gladly labour, and die. 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 319 

Yet if I may be of a little use here, it will abun- 
dantly repay me ; and at present I can conceive of 
scarcely anything that would be so painful as to go 
back to the United States without an unmistakable 
call to do so. It does seem to me as if I could not 
do it. How much of this may be from a desire to 
preserve my reputation, I will not pretend to say, but 
among other motives, I trust that of preaching Christ 
to these poor idolaters is not the least. How 
wretched is their condition ! I stood at my window 
the other day, and saw an idolatrous procession go 
by, till my heart asked, " Oh, Lord, how long ?" 

But I am wandering from my purpose, which was 
more immediately to tell you how I felt in recalling 
the trials and events of the first few months of my 
life out in China. Somehow, they seem to have hap- 
pened much longer ago than is really the case. Most 
of them seem to have occurred ten years ago; and I 
sometimes think of them as if they had happened 
to another person. How much goodness and mercy 
were mingled with them all ! I was much struck, 
too, in reading your letters, to notice how many that 
I knew when with you are already dead. Some 
that were careless then, are pious now. Changes, 
breaking up, and settling down : — I am more at home 
here than I should be in the United States. 

I am commonly very happy, all but in one thing ; I 
have so little grace. Pray for me. It is a hard 
thing to keep the flame of piety burning bright 
when the sickening blasts of idolatry blow on the 
soul, and there are few to speak of Christ. He 
came once, and though he came to suffer and to die, 
yet even then the " groaning creation" was on tip-toe 
to receive him. The winds heard his voice, the 
waves became solid beneath his feet, the fish came 
at his command, the tree shook down its leaves 
when he spoke. Good angels hovered near, and 
devils fled at his word. If all this happened when 
he came to be "a servant," what will it be when 
he comes "to reign?" and we shall reign with him. 



320 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

Yes, for ever and ever. " So shall we be ever with 
the Lord." It makes me wonder, how can he con- 
descend so low? how is it possible we can be lifted 
up so high? But "fear not, little flock, it is your 
Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." 
It is his "good pleasure," and so we shall have it. 
If it were our "good deeds," we might despair. 
Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. 

I do not write so much and so freely as I used 
to ; and I sometimes fear you may think I am for- 
getting, or losing my affection for you; but it is not 
so. Ihave more to do than I used to have, though 
I do not seem to accomplish much, and it is often 
of such a kind as indisposes me for the free and 
easy letters I would like to write. But nothing 
brings tears more easily to my eyes than to recall 
past hours with you, and I sometimes seem to live 
them over again. Well ! here is the last corner of 
the sheet, and though I have not said much, yet it 
seems like a relief to say even this, disjointed as it 
is. It is nearly midnight, — high noon with you. 
How often is it so in life ! Bright noon and joy 
with one, and perhaps his dearest friend at the same 
moment in midnight gloom, but the Sun is still in 
his place, as bright and cheering as ever; and 
"when I awake, I am still with thee." I presume 
you know my meaning. I have not space to en- 
large it, and so write here 

Ever affectionately yours, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



Ningpo, September 15th, 1846. 
My Dear Father — .... You will unite with us 
in thanksgiving, that we have been permitted to 
receive a Chinese, a native of this place, into the 
church. He was for a long time, eight or ten 
months, under pretty constant instruction and ex- 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 321 

animation, and gave us every satisfaction before 
being admitted to the church. He is employed by 
Miss Aldersey, who has been very faithful to him 
in teaching him. 

.... I got my head full of a notion of preparing 
a Dictionary of the Four Books the other day, and 
may perhaps try to make something out of it. 
There is no existing dictionary by which a Chinese 
student can read even the Four Books with satis- 
faction. Morrison's is the best. My plan would be 
to make a Dictionary, 1st. Of all the words in the 
Four Books, about 2500: this would be the great 
body of characters used in the language — Dyer's 
list having only 3500. 2d. To give all the mean- 
ings of each word that occurs in the Four Books, 
which, as they are the foundation of the literature 
of China, would be by much the greater part of the 
important definitions needed. 3d. To give pretty 
full biographical notices of all the persons, and 
notices also of the places mentioned in the Four 
Books: this would give nearly everything that is 
important in ancient Chinese history. The above 
is the better half of what I have cut out. To do 
it, without interfering with my more direct and 
more important missionary labours, would require 
between two and three years. Should this plan 
succeed, I might afterwards try my hand at a more 
important and ambitious effort, i. e., a Dictionary 
of the language ; but this is so vast an undertaking, 
that at present I have little idea of trying it. The 
Dictionary of the Four Books I think I can man- 
age, and it would be an important contribution to- 
wards a general dictionary. I have not spoken of 
it to any one, and do not wish to do so, as so many 
things may interfere, but I should be very glad to 
get all the assistance possible in it, even if only for 
my own advancement. I should like to get the 
translations published at Paris and Berlin. I do 
not know where the money is to come from for all 
these ; but if you can manage to get them for me, or 



322 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

for the mission, all the same ; I should be very glad. 
I hope you will not say I am engaged in any 
such work, for I am not yet so committed to it that 
I feel myself bound to continue it, even to myself; 
and if 1 did commence it, I would not want it 
known, till I was in a situation not to fear the re- 
proach of beginning without counting the cost. 

I have been a good deal encouraged of late in 
my hopes of learning the language, and if God 
spares my life, and gives me health, I think there 
is a reasonable prospect of my becoming a tolerably 
thorough scholar. My early education, for which, 
under God. I am most indebted to you, gives me 
some qualifications for it, which, I trust it is not 
vanity alone tells me, are not possessed by all those 

who have gone before me to this field 

Ever your affectionate son, W. M. Lowrie. 



Ningpo, December 9th, 1846. 

James Lenox, Esq. — My Dear Sir : — Your letter 
of April 20th has been lying by me for some three 
months, a longer period than usually elapses before 
I answer letters ; but my time has been much occu- 
pied with writing appointed me by the mission, and 
with the preparation of my weekly Chinese dis- 
courses, which take much of the time that I once 
gave to correspondents. 

I am exceedingly obliged for your kindness in 
regard to the books. On several occasions we have 
been very glad to have some at hand; and I have 
no doubt they have been a means of doing good, 
by being put in the hands of persons who would 
otherwise have had few or no religious books near 
them. 

I do not think the books for the blind would be of 
service here. They are, of course, in the English 
language, and it could hardly be considered a pro- 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 323 

fitable employment for us to turn from the multitudes 
around us, and spend time in teaching a few blind per- 
sons to read a strange language. One or two at each 
station, as a curiosity, and to show the Chinese the 
comprehensive benevolence of Christian society, which 
regards even the dumb and the blind, would doubt- 
less be interesting. My teacher was exceedingly 
astonished the other day, when I showed him a hymn 
for the blind, which I happened to have, in raised 
letters. The idea had never occurred to him before. I 
fear it would be impossible to adapt it to the Chinese 
language. Even with "the skin burnt off," the 
fingers could not appreciate the fine lines of our many 
thousands of characters. They are trying enough 
even "to the eyes. 

I have been trying to teach my teacher lessons in 
music, partly with a view of finding thereby what are 
their ideas of music; but the experiment has not 
been very successful, partly, no doubt, because I 
know so little of music myself. I wish (when will 
wishes end ?) that we had some missionaries here, 
who were adepts in musical composition, to study 
the nature of Chinese music, improve it, and com- 
pose tunes suited to Chinese poetry. It seems to 
me rather incongruous to tack Ortonville, Old Hun- 
dred, &c, tunes composed for English words, to 
Chinese poetry. In Luther's judgment, music com- 
posed for Latin poems was unsuited to German verse ; 
and if so, foreign music must be still more unfit for 
Chinese verse. But I feel at present comparatively 
little inteftst in singing Chinese poetry, from the fact 
that it is so utterly unintelligible to the mass of the 
people. This language, I mean as written, is one of 
the greatest possible barriers to the spread of the 
gospel here. I may be mistaken, but to me the con- 
clusion seems irresistible, that till a change as great 
as that which came over the languages of Europe at 
the Reformation, comes over this language, it will be 
unfit for the extensive dissemination of truth among 
the mass of the people; — I mean, of course, the 



324 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

written language. We can now preach the gospel 
in the spoken language ; but the spoken language is 
not a written language ; and thus, as far as the mass 
of the people are concerned, we have no means of 
reaching them, except by the living preacher, or such 
of their own educated people as may feel interest 
enough in our books to explain them to the people. 
Why not write the spoken language? It may be 
done, but not in a day, nor in a year. I hope to see 
a beginning made in my day, but it must come gradu- 
ally, and against strong opposition and contempt from 
the literati of the country. We think of preparing 
some books, or rather sheet tracts, in the colloquial 
language of this province ; and, as a means of making 
them attractive, in spite of the contempt of the peo- 
ple for what seems to them so low, we want to have 
them illustrated with pictures. Pictures are like the 
corks which hold a man up in the water oftentimes ; 
at least, many a book is read at home for the sake 
of the pictures, and there is no reason why it should 
not be so here ; and we shall soon make an applica- 
tion to the Committee to send us out a good supply 
of the pictures of birds, beasts, utensils, and various 
figures, prepared by type-founders, which are pre- 
cisely what we want ; and I feel disposed to speak for 
your vote in the Committee beforehand. Some might 
laugh at the idea of sending such things to a mission- 
station ; but really, a picture of a steamboat, or rail- 
road car, with a suitable description, or pictures of 
the costumes and customs of different countries, with 
short accounts of them, would do more t# arouse a 
spirit of inquiry, and awaken the dormant mind of 
this people, than a person at home, accustomed from 
infancy to such things, could well imagine. Such a 
book as the New England Primer, well translated 
into the colloquial dialects of this country, and with 
good pictures, would be a national blessing. The 
book would be eagerly taken and read for the sake 
of the pictures. It may be said, this is treating the 
Chinese like children ; but the fact is, the wisest of 



MEMOIK OF WALTER M. LOWBIE. 325 

them are ignorant of things which every child knows 
at home ; and amidst all the diversity of talents which 
we require, and can employ here, scarcely any is 
better than aptness to be an "instructor of babes." 
.... Much as the return of missionaries is de- 
plored by our friends at home, it can hardly be felt 
by you so much as it is by us ; its effects here are 
almost always more sensibly felt than at home. Our 
little number diminished, men of experience taken 
away, the remaining parties discouraged ; the heathen, 
judging from one, that all are equally uncertain to 
remain, and hence feeling less interest in us ; are only 
a part of the difficulties. But has the question ever 
been fairly studied and looked at, at home? It is 
felt that something is wrong, but who knows where 
to lay the blame ? or where to apply the remedy ? 
A thought has often occurred to me, which yet I feel 
some delicacy in expressing. The difficulty, or one 
difficulty is, that the Church expects of the mis- 
sionary what the mass of church-members would not 
do themselves. Now it is hard for the stream to rise 
higher than the fountain ; and missionaries generally 
possess very little, if any more piety than Christians 
at home. It does seem unreasonable for those who 
stay at home, and know comparatively little of the 
pains of separation from friends, of loneliness and 
isolation among the heathen, to say to their mission- 
aries, " Good brethren, go ; and the blessing of God 
go with you. We will support you, and pray for 
you, (?) and think of you, and read your letters ; — 
but do not come hack here. If you do, it must be at 
the risk of losing much of your influence, and being 
thought to be tired of your work, and you had 
better not come." Doubtless, many of the best 
friends of missions would be far from using such 
language, and yet if I am not mistaken, it is the 
feeling of the mass. It is a serious question whether 
those who use such language, or feel such senti- 
ments, are entitled to use it; or whether they should 
not, first, pluck out the beam before they spy the 

28 



326 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

mote. Now it strikes me that it would be better to 
say, " Go brethren, and labour faithfully, and as long 
as you can. We will do our part. We do not ex- 
pect, and we do not wish, you to forget your father 
land. You have the feelings of men and women, of 
sons and daughters, and it is natural and right, that 
you should at times long for Christian intercourse 
with the great congregation, and the family fireside. 
Should these feelings become strong in you, we shall 
not interfere with your once more visiting your aged 
parents; but shall welcome you among your friends, 
and endeavour to fit you to go forth again with re- 
newed vigour to your work. Only remember you are 
the Lord's, and may not needlessly or extravagantly 
use his time, even for objects so sacred, as cultivat- 
ing the kindlier feelings of your hearts." Some 
such language as this, expresses the feeling I would 
like to see among the churches. My meaning is, that 
it ought to be understood and allowed, and in many 
cases approved, that a missionary, after a certain time, 
should have the right to return home on a visit. 
The Church ought not to require exile, as many 
seem disposed to do. I am satisfied that to have 
it understood on all hands, that a man had a right to 
see once more, those whom he cannot but long to 
see, would have no tendency to increase the number 
of returns home. It would make most men and wo- 
men better contented to stay and labour ten years, 
if they felt that at the end of that time there would 
be no obstacle to a visit home if desired. And a 
person who had spent ten years in heathen land, 
would not, after that, want to leave it finally, if he 
had the smallest portion of true missionary spirit. 
If he did, it would probably be better that he 
should. It seems to me, that the prospect of a 
cheerful visit home would encourage many a man to 
labour on, and to form his plans for life here, who 
might be appalled by the idea of a lifetime, unre- 
lieved by any such prospect; nor do I see how the 
mass of Christians can object to this, without either 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 327 

condemning themselves for their own want of self- 
denial, or else requiring of their missionaries to re- 
nounce many of the finest feelings of their nature. 

In the English army in India, the officers are al- 
lowed after ten years' service, three years' furlough ; 
and after twenty years, to retire finally. I should 
be sorry to see the latter regulation applied to our 
warfare ; but at present it strikes me, that the privi- 
lege of a visit home, after every ten years of service, 
for a much less period than three years, would be a 
saving both of men and money in the missionary 
cause. There are some who would not embrace it; 
most persons probably would. It would make their 
first ten years pass more pleasantly away, and it 
would revive them bodily, and mentally, and spirit- 
ually, for the next ten years; and at the end of 
twenty years, if they wanted to leave the mission- 
ary field it would probably be for sufficient reasons. 

Believe me, my dear sir, very truly yours, in 
Christian bonds, ' W. M Lowrie. 



Ningpo, September 13th, 1846. 

To the Rev. John Lloyd — Dear Brother 
John: — You will judge from the date of this let- 
ter (Sabbath evening), that it is not to be about 
everything under the sun. I do not know how 
it strikes every person, but occasionally I like 
to spend a part of the Sabbath evening in Christ- 
ian conversation with an absent friend, and I do 
not know that it is more improper to converse 
with pen and ink, than by word of mouth. . . . Your 
note of July 1st, inclosing a letter from J. M. L., 
came two days ago, and your note of Aug. 27th, 
reached me this morning. ... In several notes you 
have spoken of a wish to be near me. I heartily 
wish it could be so, but I fear you would find only 
a very weak and bruised reed to lean on, if you 
expected any good from me. You would not ex- 



328 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

pect much if you knew me better. God is showing 
me of late in a very painful way that in myself I 
am nothing, — can do nothing, and am utterly sinful 
and vile ; and the way he shows it is by leaving me 
to myself, to walk on in my Christian course, and 
to do my duties without any sensible support of his 
grace ; and the consequence is, that I am very low. 
Oh, how many bitter things I write against myself! 
but the worst is, my utter deadness — no life or de- 
light in prayer, the Scriptures, or meditation. What 
dreadful things these hearts of ours are ! It amazes 
me to think that God can be gracious to people 
naturally so vile, and who sin so grievously after 
conversion. I preached a week ago on the prodigal 
son's departing from his father's house. I felt the 
subject a good deal myself, and several of the little 
audience were in tears; but alas, I do not seem to 
have "come back" yet. To-day was our commu- 
nion, but I found little or no benefit. There has 
been much strangeness between God and my soul 
for many months past, and often a great reluctance 
to close and faithful dealing with myself. So dead 
that I have lost the savour of spiritual things, and 
the perception of the beauties of the Bible, and sel- 
dom draw nigh unto God. I seem to satisfy myself 
with very faint services. Oh to be revived ! and 
yet this lazy heart would be revived without effort 
on my own part. Awake, thou that sleepest ! Alas ! 
I am so soon wearied in my efforts. Like the little 
flying-fish, but a moment up, and then back in the 
troubled waters of this heaving, restless world. Oh 
Lord God, give me wings, and enable me to breathe 
the pure and spiritual atmosphere of heaven. I find 
myself by nature diseased by sin, which, like the 
leprosy, affects my whole frame. Yea, " the plague 
is in his head." Yea, the " whole head is sick, and 
the whole heart faint;" and thus I neither pro- 
perly appreciate, nor comprehend spiritual things, 
nor feel them aright ; therefore I am unclean, separ- 
ated from the society of the holy, dwelling without 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 329 

the precincts where the people of God's love are. 
How deep should be my sorrow, and self-loathing, 
and abasement! and how should I come to him 
whose word can cleanse.— Lev. xiii. 4 £-46. 

But I trust I am one of God's people, and yet 
even this is but renewed reason for humiliation. 
"My people have committed two evils." "For- 
saken God, the fountain of living waters;" what 
greater despite, contempt, unbelief, and sin, than 
this? And "hewn out broken cisterns which can 
hold no water." How true is this ! It is so with 
me. Made for God; heart disquieted till it rests 
in him ; and yet unwilling to come to him ; and on 
the contrary, seeking rest in creatures ! Well may 
heaven and earth be astonished at this ! — Jer. ii. 
12, 13. / 

I trust I have not wholly forsaken God's service, 
but there is small comfort in this. It has been with 
but half a heart that I have served him. I have 
sought happiness in my study, books, correspond- 
ence, business, friends; and with a half heart to 
them and a half heart to God, how miserably have 
I gone on ! Oh Lord, unite my heart to fear thy 
name! Psalm lxxxvi. 11. It is impossible to serve 
God if the whole heart be not his. If with a half 
heart, then as good none at all. Thus with my 
half heart I have fallen asleep, and am become 
dead. Oh let me now awake, and arise from the 
dead, and may he who is the light of the world give 
me Hght! Eph. v. 14. None but he can do it. 
Blessed Jesus, raise me to thyself and shine into 
my heart with the light of the knowledge of the 
glory of God, of which I now know so little. 2 Cor. 
iv. 6. Let me rise with thee, and being risen, let 
me seek those things which are above where thou 
sittest, Col. iii. 1. I have too often forgotten that 
he who is risen with Christ, must still seek and 
labour. Oh let me forget it no more, and thus 
labouring and believing, praying and trusting, I 

28* 



330 MEMOIR OP WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

beseech thee show me thy glory. Ex. xxxiii. 18; 
xxxiv. 6, 7. 

You will ask, why do I live thus ? Because, I am 
" sold under sin," and " the good I would I do not." 
I know I ought to do it, and am guilty for not 
doing it. " Oh, wretched man that I am, who shall 
deliver me from this body of death ?" Jesus Christ 
our head ? Yes, but there is the worst of it. Like 
the prodigal departing from his father, I have gone 
away from Christ, and therefore have no life. Pray 
for me. I will continue this strain no longer. 

We have much reason for gratitude in not being 
left entirely destitute of a blessing here. As many 
as three persons have hopefully experienced a 
change of heart here during the past year. One of 
these is Azin, Miss Alclersey's Chinese servant, a 
native of this place, who was baptized to-day. He 
has been inquiring for nearly a year, and after a 
very satisfactory examination, was received by the 
Session into the Church. God be praised for this ! 
Oh for more ! There are others who sometimes give 
us hopes, but we are often grievously disappointed. 
My servant seems to be somewhat serious, but I dare 
not hope that any real impression has been made on 
his mind. I think my teacher thinks more than he 
is willing to admit, but I have as yet no hopes of 
him. What a dreadful thing a backwardness to 
speak on religious topics is ! There is no one thing 
that has troubled me in all my intercourse so much 
as this. No duty I find so hard to perform, or 
which I oftener fail in attending to. Nothing has 
caused me to doubt my piety so much as this one 
thing, and now I almost despair of ever overcoming 
it. " Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth 
speaketh," but if I am judged by this rule, I shall 
stand very low. I am glad others are not so defi- 
cient in it as I am. 

Monday, 14th. Your summer has been very cool, 
and ours excessively hot. Such hot weather, and so 
hng, I have never known. After having the ther- 



MEMOIR OF WALTER, M. LOWRIE. 331 

mometer up to 98° and 100° every day for six weeks, 
it was quite a luxury to find it rising no higher than 
88° and 90.° It is now, however, and has been for 
three weeks, very pleasant, and has been down as low 
as 74° at night, now generally below 80° at night, and 
even at the warmest there was always a fall of 10° 
to 15° at night. I do not think we could have lived 
through it if it had not been for this. 

Walsh, at Mynpurie, speaks of 122° in the sun, 
as very hot. We have had it much higher than 
that in the sun here ; but in India the hot weather 
lasts much longer than it does here. 

Why do we never see your lucubrations in the 
Chronicle, or Foreign Missionary? A man who 
holds as ready a pen as you do, is bound to let it 
speak pro bono publico. Tell Brother Brown I am 
very glad he has commenced at the right end, and 
I hope he will keep on. 

I am engaged of late in preparing a report on the 
word to be used in speaking the name of God. 
We are pretty unanimous here in disapproving of 
the word Shang-te, as it is perpetually confounded 
with the Chinese idol of the same name. I believe 
we are all in favour of Shin, and I have been quite 
surprised at the amount of authority, I mean from 
the Chinese classics, in favour of its use. What 
words do you use? and how do they take with the 
people? I would like much to hear what your 
custom is. 

Believe me, ever yours, in the gospel and min- 
istry of Christ, W. M. Lowrie. 



Ningpo, December 31st, 1846. 

Rev. John C. Lowrie — My Dear Brother: — 

Your truly welcome letter of June 2 2d, came to 

hand to-day. I know not why it was so long on 

the road. A letter from another person in New 



332 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

York, written on the same day, reached me six 
weeks ago. But we have to submit to some incon- 
venience up here about our correspondence. 

By God's grace I am preaching, though it be with 
stammering lips, and my prospects of mastering the 
language are now so fair that I would be very un- 
willing to leave this mission. I am, therefore, satis- 
fied and anxious to remain ; and my present feeling, 
which indeed has almost always been my feeling, is 
not to leave unless the Committee, who took the re- 
sponsibility of sending me to China, will take the 
responsibility of sending me away. I am glad and 
happy to be here. It is true I am lonely, some- 
times very lonely, but this loneliness is appointed 
to me by Him who knows better than I do what is 
best for me. I have not sought it, nor run into it 
rashly, and in due season it will be diminished; or 
if not, then it is best that it be so, and I will, if not 
gladly, at least resignedly, or if not resignedly, at 
least praying to be resigned, confess myself a 
stranger and a pilgrim on the earth. 

The clock strikes twelve, p. m ; , and 1847 has 
begun. I have disobeyed your injunction; but, in 
the first place, it is very seldom that this happens. 
I am almost always in bed before eleven. Second, 
I was anxious to write as much of this letter as 
possible, for it must be closed to-morrow or next 
day. I must confess I did not mean to spin it out 
so long. Third, I do not disapprove of seeing the 
New Year in, and commencing it with prayer. I 
wish you, and yours, a happy New Year. 

I am always interested in the accounts of your 
church, and pray for a blessing on it. If you are 
ever "disheartened" with any among the people 
you have to deal with, just fancy what kind of con- 
gregations / have. I will try and give you a peep 
at one, some of these days, and you will not dare 
to say a word after that. That leads me to ask, 
how much egotism is allowable occasionally in arti- 
cles for the Chronicle? I could write an article 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 333 

now, on preaching to a heathen audience, which 
might surprise and edify some of your readers, and 
give them juster views of the real nature of mis- 
sionary work, than fifty Tabernacle speeches. I 
am not boasting, for I grieve over a vast many 
speeches about missions that are published; they 
are well meant, but all wrong. But to give such 
an article, I must enter into my own feelings pretty 
deeply, and write just as I would talk to you, or 
any other dear friend, and the little pronoun "I" 
must come forward pretty often. This is rather 
hazardous; some really humble men, like Brother 
Sawyer, could do it very well; but there are very 
few who can do it. Yet really, as far as I can see, 
such relations of one's own experience are among 
the most interesting and profitable articles; for 
many a man, if he has only the right spirit, may 
write an article of that kind well, who, if he at- 
tempted to write an edifying article on general prin- 
ciples, would soon become very dull. . . . 
Your affectionate brother, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



JOURNAL AT NINGPO. 

June 11th. There has been some talk of poison- 
ing of late in a district about a hundred miles from 
Ningpo, and some placards have been sent here and 
pasted up in conspicuous places, warning the people 
not to take up articles of food that may be found in 
the streets, lest they should contain poison. To-day 
my servant came in great trepidation, and said he 
had heard people say that a man in the city, having 
eaten a cake, became suddenly ill, and his body be- 
coming black all over, he soon died. This has 
aroused suspicion that the poisoners are abroad 
here. In consequence of this, some persons have 



334 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

had a large number of the above mentioned pla- 
cards printed off here and distributed about. This is 
considered a very meritorious act, though almost the 
only effect it can have, will be to create a panic ter- 
ror among the people. 

June 12th. The talk of poisoning is more gen- 
eral than ever ; and a man having been taken sick 
after eating a cake bought in a shop, the shopkeeper 
was taken before the mayor of the city, and sen- 
tenced to be beaten with forty strokes of the bam- 
boo. This was chiefly to pacify the people, for 
many say that even if the cake was the cause of the 
sickness, there is no proof that it was not left in the 
shop by some evil-minded person without the know- 
ledge of the shopman. Among a multitude of reports 
that are flying about, for the people are fairly panic- 
stricken, is one which says that about one hundred 
persons have lost their lives in Seaou-shan, and an- 
other, that a Buddhist priest there being detected, 
or at least suspected of being concerned in the nefa- 
rious business, was seized by the people and on ex- 
amination was found to have cakes and rolls, and 
drugs of various kinds concealed about his person. 
In all probability the whole affair is a panic. 

The summer of 1846 is likely to be long memo- 
rable in Ningpo, on account of the many calamities, 
some real and some imaginary, with which it was 
accompanied. The year has been fruitful in terrors, 
and some were so wide-spread that it was impossible 
to collect all the facts, or a tenth part of the reports 
concerning them. Some of us heard one set of sto- 
ries, and some another, and even contradictory 
statements, which must account for some of the dis- 
crepancies between the following sketch and some 
others that you may have seen. 

The month of April was distinguished by a sea- 
son of unusually rainy weather. There were but one 
or two fair days in the whole month, and most of 
the time the rain fell in torrents. It is in the month 
of April that the rice is transplanted, and though 



MEMOIR OP WALTER M. LOWRIE. 335 

some rain is required for this purpose, a superabun- 
dance is a great evil, which was the case this year. 
In consequence of the rain, the officers of the city, 
about the middle of the month, appointed sacrifices, 
and, by way of further propitiation, ordered that for 
the space of seven days no swine should be slaugh- 
tered for food. This is called the Kin-too, or prohi- 
bition of slaughtering, and is frequently resorted to 
in times of distress. But their miserable idols did 
not hear their prayers, and, as a last resort, about 
the end of the month, some of them were put out in 
the rain ! The rain ceased soon after this, and the 
people continued mad on their idols. 

During the month of May but little rain fell, and 
the weather became rather warm, though not op- 
pressively so. The summer of 1845 had been so 
mild and pleasant that we did not think of the 
weather becoming unusually hot this year. But the 
months of June, July, and August, were dreadfully 
hot. None of us had before experienced such long- 
continued hot weather. During the three years 
that I was in Macao, although that place is eight de- 
grees farther south than this, and in the torrid zone, 
the thermometer never rose so high as it did here 
day after day. 

From the experience of the past summer, we have 
been completely convinced that good houses are in- 
dispensable to health in this climate. We are at 
present all living in Chinese houses, which are not 
made for constitutions like ours. The low rooms 
and thin roofs and walls, are miserable defences 
against the heat of such burning suns. It is true 
we are not likely to have many summers so hot as 
the past, for even the natives spoke of it as " extra- 
ordinarily hot;" but we shall have them occasion- 
ally, and houses built under our own inspection, 
might be so arranged as to diminish much of their 
oppressiveness. 

Next added to the oppressiveness of the heat, 
was the fearful drought. I have spoken of the 



336 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

abundant rains of April. They were followed by a 
four months' drought, which, like Pharaoh's lean 
kine, devoured up every remembrance of the preced- 
ing rains. During the months of May, June, July, 
and August, but one copious shower fell; and most 
of the time the heavens over us were as brass, and 
the earth as powder and dust beneath our feet. 
Clouds sometimes sailed over our heads, or gathered 
on the hills around the city, and sometimes the 
thunder and a few drops of rain excited our hopes, 
but they passed away again, and more than once I 
have heard natives of the place say, as they saw 
them disappear: Teenpuh kung lo ?/u, — "Heaven is 
unwilling to drop rain." Vegetation suffered ex- 
ceedingly. The deepest canals were drained dry in 
the vain attempt to supply the wants of the grow- 
ing rice-crops. The canals being dry, the internal 
navigation of the country was in great measure 
stopped. Deep anxiety sat on many faces. Public 
processions were appointed in honour of the gods, 
and the officers of the city, on two or three separate 
occasions issued the Kin-too, which was at last ob- 
served so rigidly, that for nearly a month a pound 
of pork could be obtained only by stealth and pre- 
vious arrangement. 

" When shall we have rain ?" It assumes a very 
serious aspect, now that for so long a time we have 
had none. 

As if the real evils of the heat and drought were 
not enough, the people added others from their own 
folly and superstitions. I have already spoken of 
the alarm caused by the report of poisoners. This 
foolish story gradually died away during the month 
of July, but was succeeded by another equally ap- 
palling, of which the following extracts, entered in 
my journal at the time, will give some account: 

August 1, 1846. There has been no little excite- 
ment here for a few days past, on account of a sup- 
posed visitation of evil spirits. It seems that some 
persons living in the main street were awakened a 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 337 

few nights ago by a great noise, as though a large 
body of disorderly men were marching and carous- 
ing through the streets. On looking out, however, 
nobody was seen, and the conclusion drawn was that 
the noise had been caused by chejin, paper men.* 
The story spread, and it was speedily reported that 
there were three thousand evil spirits, that they had 
been to Yuyaou and Funghwa, and have now come 
here, and will soon visit Chinhai and Chusan. Of 
course they can have come for no good purpose, and 
to drive them away, gongs and drums have been 
beaten and crackers fired for several nights, filling 
the air with a deafening noise for hours together. 
This has caused a great demand for gongs, and it is 
said that the gong shops in the city have disposed 
of nearly all they had on hand. In default of gongs, 
brass kettles are supposed to be nearly as efficacious. 
Strips of yellow paper with four mystical characters, 
whose sound and signification no one pretends to 
know, have been sold by myriads, and pasted up 
over every door and window, hoping to prevent the 
entrance of the evil spirits. 

The reason for beating the gongs is thus explained : 
There are two great principles called the Yang and 
the Yin, under which all substances material or im- 

* These paper men seem to hold the same position in the superstitions 
of China that the " familiar spirits/' held in the times of the Old Testa- 
ment, or the "evil spirits," under the control of conjurers and witches 
of our own and other Christian lands. In the History of the Three 
States, which is probably the most popular book of light reading in the 
Chinese language, is the following notice of them: "When the battle 
began, Chang-paou commenced his magical arts, whereupon arose a great 
tempest of wind and thunder ; the dust flew about ; the stones rolled 
over ; a black cloud overspread the heavens; and, as it revolved, men and 
horses came down from above. Thereupon, at a convenient place, Heu- 
enteh gave the signal, and his men poured out the mixture of the blood 
of swine, sheep and dogs, previously prepared. By doing this the power 
of the magic spell was broken, and nothing was seen in the heavens ex- 
cept paper men and straw horses rapidly falling. The wind and thunder 
ceased to sound, the sand and stones became quiet again, and Chang-paou 
seeing his schemes confounded, turned his head to flee, and his followers 
were defeated with prodigious slaughter." In the colloquial dialect of 
Ningpo, chejin is changed into tsz' ane, and may be expressed in Eng- 
lish either by witches or evil spirits. 
29 



338 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

material are supposed to be arranged. These two are 
in perpetual opposition, and if either one of them 
attains too much ascendency, great confusion is the 
inevitable result. It so happens that the evil spirits 
which cause all the present disturbance belong to the 
Yin principle, while the sound of brass vessels be- 
longs to the Yang. By beating the brass vessels the 
Yang principle will be enabled to resist the too great 
ascendency of the Yin, which is shown in the pre- 
sent incursion of evil spirits, and thus it is hoped 
order will be again restored. Great excitement pre- 
vails in the city, and all the higher officers are going 
in state to the temples, to pray that the evil spirits 
may be driven away. 

August 3d. We were aroused shortly after three 
o'clock, a. M., by an earthquake. Having been sound 
asleep, it was some moments before I became aware 
of the real cause of the disturbance. There was a 
dull heavy roaring in the air, coming from the north 
gate of the city, and the roof of the house moved as 
if being gradually lifted off by a strong wind. Think- 
ing it was a strong wind, I was about to get up and 
close the windows, when I perceived that the bed 
and the whole house were moving from end to end. 
Jumping up, and going to the window, I observed 
that the motion still continued, and being now sen- 
sible of what it was, and fearing lest the house 
should fall, I ran down stairs and out of the doors, 
and called to my people, who were all awake, to 
come out. The motion, however, had ceased before 
I got out. All this took up probably less than a 
minr.te, though how long the shock might have lasted 
before I was awaked, I do not know. The conster- 
nation that prevailed in the city was indescribable. 
Owing to the rumours and panic caused by the fear 
of the evil spirits, many people have been sitting up 
for several nights past, and when the shock came it 
was so violent that even the sleepers were awakened, 
and the universal idea was that the evil spirits were 
coming to take the city by storm. The inmates of 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 339 

the house next door to mine set up a terrific shriek, 
and in an instant the whole city with its quarter of 
a million of inhabitants, rang with the beating of 
gongs, the firing of rockets and crackers, and the 
shouts and crying of men in terror. To increase the 
alarm a bright falling star shot from the zenith to 
the north, leaving a long train of light behind it, and 
to many terrified imaginations it doubtless seemed 
as if the Yin and Yang principles were wrapped in 
endless confusion, and heaven and earth about to 
end. The noise and beating of gongs continued 
so long and loud that it was impossible to distinguish 
any other sounds. I regretted this, for once or twice 
I fancied there was the same dull, heavy roar that 
struck me on first awaking, and the Chinese, think- 
ing it was the shouting of the evil spirits, cried out, 
u There they are ! They are coming !" It may have 
been, however, only the blended sounds of rockets 
and gongs, and the cries of men in terror, as they 
rose over the night air. It was with difficulty I 
could prevent even my own servants from joining in 
the uproar, and one of them asked me, with a trem- 
bling voice, " Teacher, is this the evil spirit's com- 
ing ? ' Many cried like children when in fits of the 
extr ernes t terror. It was a solemn thought to think, 
if such the terror occasioned by a single shock of an 
earthquake, what will it be when the heavens and 
the earth shall pass away with a great noise ? 

August 9th. In consequence of the earthquake, 
and especially the strange sounds accompanying it, 
the belief in the presence of evil spirits has taken a 
still firmer hold on the minds of the people. Multi- 
tudes of them have prepared green branches of trees, 
supposing they would be of use in warding off the in- 
visible foes, and the most absurd rumours are abroad 
as to the cause of this visitation. Many attribute 
their coming to the Roman Catholics, who are about 
rebuilding the chapel which they possessed here in 
the reign of Kanghe, while others attribute them to 
the Protestant missionaries. 



340 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE.' 

One of our missionaries lives in the western part 
of the city, and the people around him look with 
much suspicion on him, and on his wife. Among 
other things, they have it reported that when he 
and his wife walk on the wall of the city near his 
house, in the evening, they carry a bottle containing 
a number of these invisible people with them ; it is 
further reported, that when they take out the 
cork a number of evil spirits, of different sizes, come 
out and kneel down to receive his commands, and 
then, on a signal, disperse themselves over the city. 
Another of our missionaries is reported to have 
forty-nine of the evil spirits under his control, and 
some of the worthy citizens who have seen me 
walking on the wall about sunset, have reported 
that they saw a long white devil walking there. 
All this is very unpleasant; the people are be- 
coming excited and alarmed, and if they were at 
all of the disposition of the mobs in Canton, it 
would not be difficult to arouse them to wreak 
vengeance on the few defenceless foreigners here, 
whom they suppose to be the occasion of their ca- 
lamities. One immediate effect has been, quite to 
break up my soirees on the wall. I had been in 
the habit, for some weeks, of sitting down to enjoy 
the cool breeze at twilight, on the wall near my 
house, and very frequently had quite a little con- 
gregation of the people to talk to, and converse 
with on religion and general topics, but now, when 
I sit down there, not one comes near me. 

The sound of a shaken leaf terrifies them. My 
next door neighbours heard their paper windows rat- 
tling last night, and supposing the evil spirits were 
coming, they commenced the usual shrieking, shout- 
ing and beating of gongs, much to my discomfort; and 
there is scarcely a night in which I am not waked 
several times by the noises around. Last night 
and to-night are perhaps the crisis of the affair, 
for there is a report abroad, that six persons of par- 
ticular classes, will die to-night, if they happen to 



MEMOIR OP WALTER M. LOWRIE. 341 

fall asleep. In consequence of this, all belonging 
to those classes (such as were born under the in- 
fluence of certain constellations) sat up all last 
night, and will sit up this night, fearing that if they 
sleep, they will be of the number of the six that 
must die. 

Verily, " gross darkness covers the people." 
August 21. The rumours about the evil spirits 
have taken a firmer hold than ever of the people's 
minds, and the most ridiculous stories are in circula- 
tion. Some men have had their queues cut off at 
night — of course by the witches, and the people are 
becoming excited. The drought still continues ; we 
have been tantalized by clouds, and a drizzling mist, 
yesterday and to-day, but they are clouds without 
rain. The delusion about the witches has spread 
all over the province, and it is everywhere attributed 
to foreigners. Placards have even been posted up at 
Ningpo, saying that there will be no peace here till the 
foreigners are extirpated. My teacher went home 
a few days ago, and found his family in the greatest 
distress. He had not gone home for nearly a month, 
and they thought I had either locked him up, or 
bewitched him that he could not go. When he 
laughed at his neighbours for their folly in believing 
in the spirits, they said, " Oh yes ! you are eating 
the bread of the foreigners, and it is very well for 
you to say so." One of Miss Aldersey's adopted 
orphan children died a few days ago, and the common 
report is that she murdered it. It is common here 
to keep the dates of people's births in the temples 
for astrological purposes. It has been reported that 
some foreigners have been copying these registers, 
and that all whose names are copied will surely 
die. In consequence great numbers of the people 
have gone to blot their names out, lest the foreigners 
should lay schemes against their lives. 

August 22. A little rain last night and to-day 
supplies us with water to drink, and is very re- 
viving to the crops and to the hopes of the people. 

29* 



342 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

But still there is not enough to fill the canals even 
partially. 

August 25. As a last resort to drive away the 
evil spirits, a procession has been got up in honour of 
Kwan-te, the god of war. Two companies of it 
went past my house on the wall to-day, in one of 
which the god was carried along in great state, in a 
chair upborne by eight bearers. There were dra- 
gons, lanterns, gongs, &c, &c, as in other proces- 
sions; firing of crackers, and guns, and noises of 
all kinds. Two or three companies of soldiers 
formed part of the procession, marching in beautiful 
disregard of time and order. The neighbouring 
foo city of Shaou-hing having been cleared of evil 
spirits by a procession in honour of Kwan-te,. the 
people of this city are induced to seek deliverance 
in the same manner. How dreadful to see them 
so given up to idolatry ! I was deeply pained as 
they passed my house, bearing their earthen gods, 
and performing their silly rites. Oh Lord, how 
long ? 

August 26. The procession is still kept up, 
going through nearly every street in the city. As 
the neighbourhood around my house seems to have 
been particularly infested with the evil spirits, 
probably on account of my being here, a second 
detachment came past my house after eleven o'clock 
at night. The effect of the numerous lanterns 
was very pretty, but it is sad to see such worship 
paid to men. This Kwan-te flourished about sixteen 
hundred years ago. He is one of the three great 
heroes in the San kwo che, or History of the Three 
States, and was a native of the department of Shaou- 
hing, which borders on Ningpo. 

Nothing was heard of the evil spirits after the 
procession. The people having full confidence in 
the power of Kwan-te, their imaginations were at 
rest, and the evil spirits departed ! 

September 4. Rain at last! More rain has 
fallen to-day than all that has fallen since the first 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 343 

of May. It is a great blessing. "He sendeth rain 
on the just and on the unjust. 

September 5. In consequence of the rain the 
Kin-too, or prohibition of slaughtering animals for 
food/ after being in force for several weeks, has been 
withdrawn. Images of the gods from all the dif- 
ferent temples had been collected at one place, for 
the convenience of the chief officers of the city, 
who went there daily to pray to them altogether to 
send rain. In consequence of the rains, they have 
now been all taken back to their respective temples. 

October 3. The long drought of the summer has 
been followed by a month of rains, nearly as fatal 
to the hopes of the husbandman. The canals are 
full and overflowing, and the fields are flooded. 
Withal it is cool, and it is now doubtful whether 
the crops will ripen. The first crop was short, and 
the second crop, after being withered by the drought, 
and nearly drowned by the rain, is not in a condition 
to come to maturity in the moderate and cool weather 
now coming on. A plain-looking man, in the ferry- 
boat, as I crossed over to-day, was expressing his 
belief that the gods pay no attention to what is 
done on the earth. "In the spring they heard not 
the prayers for dry weather. In the summer they 
heard not the prayers for rain. Now it is raining 
too much. I believe that heaven rains just to 
please itself." 

In consequence of the cool weather, but a very 
small portion of the second crop of rice was worth 
anything. In many fields the farmers did not at- 
tempt to gather it. 

October 4th, 1846. To-day commenced a Chinese 
service in my house. Put up a notice at the door, 
inviting choo pang yew, "all the friends," to come 
and hear ; prepared seats for about forty ; and about 
the hour my servant went to the door and invited 
the passers-by to come in. Except that the words 
were spoken with a totally opposite intention, they 
were remarkably apropos. See Pro v. ix. 15, 16, to 



344 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

call passengers who go right on their ways. "Whoso 
is simple let him turn in hither, and as for him that 
wanteth understanding," &c. Some came in with 
their burdens ; some looking half afraid ; some ran 
right out again ; some stood up ; some sat down ;* some 
smoked their pipes ; some said, " what is the use of 
staging, he is a foreigner, and we do not understand 
foreign talk ?" the attention was none of the best, for 
it required all my courage and presence of mind to 
keep going, and the people feeling quite free to talk 
and make remarks, I got along no better than I an- 
ticipated. I am not discouraged, though by no 
means flattered by the result of this day's experi- 
ment. There were about forty persons present. 

October 16th. A revolting instance of cruelty 
occurred opposite my window. A poor beggar who 
had only a coarse thin pair of trowsers, and a straw 
mat for his shoulders, in weather when I find wool- 
len clothes comfortable, had by some means obtained 
eighty cash, equal to five cents, from a Chinese of 
this place. This morning the creditor came upon 
him for the money, and as he had not wherewith to 
pay him, began to beat him unmercifully. First, 
he struck him on the head and face with his fist; 
then he caught him by the hair, and beat him on 
the arms; then he took his queue or tail in one 
hand, and putting his foot on the poor man's back, 
pulled till 1 thought the man's hair would have 
come all out ; then he struck him again fiercely in 
the face ; and finally taking off his shoe, he began 
beating him on the bare back. The beggar all this 
time made no resistance, but uttered piteous cries, 
and falling down beat his head on the pavement, 
asking mercy ! Several Chinese passed, and some 
looked on, but none made any attempt to interfere. 
Finding the brute continued his beating, I could 
stand it no longer, and going down, I laid my stick 
on his back not very gently. He looked up in some 
surprise, and seemed half enraged and half fright- 
ened, to find a foreigner interfering. I asked him 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 345 

what he meant, and why he beat the beggar so ? 
He sputtered out some words, but began to edge off, 
as if he would like to be away; so I told him to 
clear out, and gave him another blow with my stick. 
I had half a notion to break it over his back. He 
seemed glad to get off so well, and went away in a 
hurry. The poor beggar's gratitude was inexpressi- 
ble. He lay down, beat his head on the ground, 
and between his sobs and tears and bleeding face, 
let me know how much he was obliged to me. I 
gave him a few cash, and one of my servants, who 
seemed much interested, gave him an old garment. 
Quite a crowd had come around us, who seemed 
quite pleased at the turn affairs had taken. 

October 18th. A larger and better audience than 
I have yet had, and very attentive. Oh, for a bless- 
ing! Otherwise it is only speaking to dry bones. 
One young man among others who stayed after the 
service, was anxious to defend himself from the 
charge of the folly of idolatry, and declared the 
monks and the nuns were a great nuisance; that he 
thought the monks had better marry the nuns, let 
their hair grow, destroy the temples, and follow the 
advice of Confucius, to " honour the gods and keep 
them at a distance." 

October 25th. Service not so well attended to- 
day; more disorder, fewer persons, and less atten- 
tion; must expect difficulty in keeping up the ser- 
vices. If it is hard to command full and attentive 
audiences at home, how much more so here, where 
the preacher is at best but imperfectly understood, 
speaks of strange subjects, sanctified in the mind 
of his hearers by no familiar or early associations, 
and of which they see no possible use? Surely 
were it not for the word of God, the missionary en- 
terprise were the most foolish experiment of the 
age. Oh, for God's Spirit ! What can man do ? 

November 1st. A rainy day, but a good many 
people in the street, going past my house : though 
the most of them carried burdens or bundles. 






346 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

There are many weddings about this time, and I 
expected a small audience ; made all my prepara- 
tions, however, and went to my chapel ; sat awhile, 
and one man came in and sat down ; determined to 
keep him if I could ; I commenced a conversation, 
but he seemed frightened at finding himself alone, 
and remarked, " nobody has come yet, and I'll not 
stop now, I'll come back soon !" So off he went, 
and came no more. Many passed the door, a few 
looked at the notice, but all went their ways, one to 
his farm, another to his merchandise. After waiting 
till I was satisfied that nobody would come, (my ser- 
vant had already invited a number of the passers-by 
to come in,) I shut the door, and went and prayed. 
Then prepared a somewhat attractive card, both to 
paste up on the door, and to distribute about, stating 
that there is preaching here, &c. If this does not 
succeed, then I see no way but to get a better loca- 
tion, or to go out into the streets and by-ways, the 
highways and hedges, and speak unto them. Pro- 
bably a chapel in any place, after the novelty wore 
off, would be deserted ; certainly, I suppose, unless 
the Spirit be poured out from on high. Oh Lord, 
visit this people ! 

Quite cold to-day ; thermometer down to 51 °, 
and a foot stove quite comfortable. 

November 2d. Quite a wintry morning; ther- 
mometer down to 43°, which is much lower than 
we saw it during this whole month last year ; not 
prepared for it, not having my stove up, nor 
cracks stopped ; but it has moderated somewhat 
towards evening. 

Went to call on the Sz' family, the head of which 
has recently died. He was, take him all in all, the 
most respectable man I have known in Ningpo. He 
died of apoplexy ; might probably have been spared, 
had the family been willing to have him bled ; but 
as the Chinese have a great horror of blood-letting, 
they would not consent, and the poor old man died 
by inches. Poor, verily ! for he knew enough of 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 347 

the truth and rejected it. Oh how dreadful is the 
reflection, that in the vast majority of cases, our 
labours only seal this people in deeper destruction ! 
They would have perished if we had not come. 
We come and speak to them ; they refuse to receive 
our words, and sink into deeper misery. But are 
we free from all blame in this ? Do they see us so 
in earnest as to be convinced that we really mean 
what we say ? I fear, often not. 

November 15th. In the afternoon I preached on 
the miracles of Christ, to a small, fluctuating, and 
disorderly congregation. I was greatly interrupted 
by their talking, and especially by a crowd of boys, 
who came in, and behaved without manners. Spoke 
with more fluency and satisfaction to myself than 
I have yet done ; but it seems like speaking to the 
wind and waves, or writing one's name on the sand. 
Spirit of Grod, breathe on these dry bones ! 

November 22d. Preached in the afternoon twice, 
on the death of Christ. Commenced with three or 
four persons, but more dropped in till there were 
twenty or thirty, by the middle of the discourse. 
Some were very attentive. So many kept coming 
in, that after the first company were gone, I preached 
the same discourse over a second time, and had some 
forty or fifty at the close. Generally pretty good 
attention, but I was excessively fatigued. An 
hour's almost constant talking in a strange language, 
and to an audience where there are always some 
unruly ones, is no easy work. Some come in and 
go out; some make remarks; one or two smoked 
pipes ; and one or two were rude enough to make 
remarks in a very loud voice as they went out, ap- 
parently for the purpose of showing how little they 
cared for what was going on. I have not yet learned 
to talk at ease amidst all the interruptions which I 
foresee I must expect in this work ; but give me 
such a day as this — I mean in regard to numbers 
and attention — and for a while at least I shall rejoice. 
Yet to many of the hearers, all they hear must be 



348 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

the merest scraps ; something, to allude to Amos, 
like the " two legs, or a piece of an ear," which 
others, more eager for something, have sometimes 
got. Well, " faith cometh by hearing ;" and I do 
rejoice, that, however imperfectly, I can yet give 
some of this people the opportunity of hearing. 
Oh for the living Spirit to breathe on the dry bones, 
and bless the word ! 

November 29th. Weather quite cold of late at 
night, and thermometer twice down to 34° before 
sunrise, but a clear day to-day, and it got up to 66°; 
very pleasant. 

Preached in the afternoon twice, on the resurrec- 
tion and ascension of Christ, with pretty good at- 
tention both times. One man, who came too late 
for the first service, said, " I don't care about books, 
but I want to hear you talk." Yet there was more 
eagerness for the books than I have often seen. 
How delightful to be able to speak with any fluency ! 
There were some old men there, tottering on the 
brink of the grave ; will the seed thus sown ever 
spring up ? 

When I was in Macao, my great anxiety was to 
get here ; arrived here, and was satisfied for a short 
time ; but then became anxious to be able to talk, 
and thought I would be satisfied if I could only talk ; 
can talk a little, and for a while was almost satisfied ; 
but now I want to see fruit. Perhaps if permitted 
to see it, I may be anxious to see it ripen ; if it 
ripens, to see it safely stored away. When shall I 
be freed from anxiety ? When but in heaven ? 
Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. I shall be satis- 
fied when I see thee, or awake in thy likeness. 

December 6th. Preached on the Divinity of 
Christ, with a good deal of satisfaction to two 
different audiences ; the second very full and gen- 
erally very attentive, and very eager for tracts. 

December 13th. Had the emptyings of a theatre 
to fill my house, which it did to overflowing. It 
gave me a larger audience than usual; but those 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 349 

in the back seats were so incommoded by the crowd, 
that they could have heard but little. Preached on 
the Creation. One man seemed greatly struck by 
the account of the institution of the Sabbath. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

1847. 



Missionary Labours at Ningpo — Voyage to Shanghai — Manchu Lan- 
guage — Chinese Translation of the Bible — Importance of selecting 
proper terms— Death and Character. 

Until the latter end of May, Mr. Lowrie con- 
tinued his regular Chinese services on the Sabbath ; 
and during the week he found many opportunities 
of making known the truths of the Christian sys- 
tem. A portion of each day was given, with in- 
creased interest, to the preparation of his Chinese 
dictionary, his plan enlarging as he advanced with 
the work. 

Having been appointed one of the delegates for 
the revision of the translation of the Bible, he reached 
Shanghai early in June; and when his colleagues 
assembled, he took part with them in this important 
work. Much time was taken up in deciding on the 
proper Chinese word to be used for the Elohim of 
the Old Testament, and the Theos of the New. This 
question he had carefully examined before the meet- 
ing of the delegates, and his further researches led 
him very clearly to prefer the Chinese word Shin. 
It was his firm conviction, that to use the Chinese 
Shang-te, or the word Te, for the true God, was only 
to confirm the Chinese in their idolatry. 

Among his last letters is one to his father, ex- 
pressing his intention of studying the language of 
the Manchu Tartars, and requesting that the neces- 

30 



350 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

sary books might be procured and forwarded. He 
did not overrate the advantages which a knowledge 
of this language would afford to the missionary 
cause ; and it will be for those still labouring for the 
evangelization of this great people, to carry out this 
and other important measures of usefulness which 
he left unfinished. 

The essay on the trials and discouragements of 
the foreign missionary, preceded by a note from his 
friend Mr. Culbertson, closes the present selection 
from his writings. Although some of the sentiments 
are expressed in his previous letters and journals, it 
was deemed best to publish this paper entire. His 
trials and sorrows were soon to cease. The work 
assigned to him by the Head of the Church was all 
finished. On the 19th of August, he was called, as 
we trust, to exchange this scene of conflict and of 
trial for the joy of his Lord. The particulars of this 
mysterious and distressing dispensation of Divine 
Providence, — the estimate of his character by those 
who knew him well, — and the expression of deep 
affliction caused by his death, are given by other 
pens. Whilst his relatives and friends bow in hum- 
ble submission to the will of God, and whilst they 
know most assuredly that nothing happens by chance 
in the government of Him who has all power in hea- 
ven and in earth, the stroke is so severe, the wound 
so deep, and so many endeared ties have been bro- 
ken asunder, that they cannot but mourn and weep 
over the early grave of this beloved missionary. He 
who wept at the grave of Lazarus, does not forbid 
the hallowed tears of his bereaved and afflicted ser- 
vants. 



Ningpo, January 18th ? 1847. 
Rev. John C. Lowrie — My Dear Brotherr :■ — I do 
not know that I have anything of consequence to 
write at present. Everything moves on quietly. 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 351 

.... I find myself now making perceptible progress 
in reading and speaking, and begin at last to feel as 
if I had mastered the chief difficulties in the outset 
of this hard language. You will, I trust, join with 
me in gratitude for this. Mind, I do not consider 
myself a scholar, or anticipate no further difficulties, 
for I can see enough to know that it is a rough and 
stony path yet, and up hill too. I do not despair, 
however, if life, and health, and grace be given, to 
make at least very respectable acquisitions in the 
language. One of the greatest difficulties I meet 
now, is a temptation to devote myself too much to 
the merely literary part of the work. For I find I 
have made such progress as, notwithstanding all the 
difficulties, to find real pleasure in the study; and 
withal, there is a field of investigation and thought, 
of philosophy and of poetry in the language, which 
is well worthy of cultivation. Do not smile at this. 
Notwithstanding the witty articles of the Reper- 
tory, the Chinese are no fools, and they have said 
and done things worthy of great renown. I begin 
to have a real veneration for Confucius, and to doubt 
whether any heathen philosopher ever saw so much 
truth as he did; while my tastes are becoming so 
Chinese, that I find eloquence and poetry, and what 
not, in multitudes of forms. You may laugh as 
much as you please at my tastes, but let those laugh 
that win. However, seriously, I do feel that there 
is danger of attending to merely literary pursuits, 
to the neglect of the far more important duties of 
one whose chief business it should be to know 
nothing but Christ, and him crucified. Pray for mc. 
Your affectionate brother, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



Ningpo, February 19th, 1847. 

My Dear Mother — . ... The weeks slip by with 
a rapidity that would be frightful, were it not for the 



352 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

calm and pleasing hope that they are wafting me to 
a home where in all labour there is no sorrow. I can 
hardly realize that six weeks of the present year are 
gone already , but so it is. Yesterday too was my 
birthday; finished twenty-eight years, and com- 
menced my twenty-ninth ; and it is more than five 
years since I saw you last. You will ask, what am 
I doing that makes me so busy ? Why, I write a 
sermon in English about once a month; a sermon in 
Chinese each week ; an average of two or three letters 
each week, (full letters, notes not counted;) correct 
two or three proofs in Chinese every week, each proof 
a good hour's work ; and then to fill up and overflow 
every hour besides, I have this copious unfathomable 
language, which I find I must study in winter, and 
take easily in summer. I am, however, now so far 
advanced, as to find a great deal of real satisfaction 
in the study ; and being thus encouraged by success, 
do not again apprehend the tedium of labour which I 
found in it for so long a time. I can now read an 
ordinary book without assistance from a teacher, 
though of course I can read much faster and easier 
with him by my side, and hope ere long to be able 
in a great measure to dispense with a teacher in 
translating from Chinese into English. I have not yet 
begun to ask, when I can do without one in trans- 
lating from English into Chinese ; that point is as 
yet many years off. I do not know how much you 
practise Chinese now, but a pretty little thought came 
into my head a few days ago; it may be in some 
book 1 have read, but I have no recollection of 
having met it anywhere. You perhaps know that 
the word men means to think. Now just divide that 
character in two, and you have kin sin, "now heart" 
i. e., what is now in the heart, which is not a bad 
definition of thoughts. But perhaps this smells too 
much of the lamp for you. So, for more domestic con- 
cerns, I have lost my beautiful dog Fanny. She fol- 
lowed me out into the street one day, and got to 
frisking ahout, and got lost in the crowd. I should 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 353 

have felt quite melancholy had it happened a few 
months sooner; but the fact is, though very beautiful, 
she was so utterly useless that I did not regret her 
going. Instead of barking, she fawned on every 
stranger that came in, and followed everybody that 
called her in the street. So it seems a fair exterior 
is no better proof of good qualities in dogs than in 
men. I've got a little pup now, who yelped inces- 
santly when I got him, until at last the cat took pity 
on him, and took him under her care. This com- 
forted his heart very much, and he is now famous for 
eating rice and milk, and worrying the cat, and gives 
promise of being worth something more before long. 
I call him Jim. 

Our winter has been mild, and is now pretty much 
over. We have had both ice and snow, but no 
weather so cold as a good deal that we had last year ; 
and as we all know better how to prepare for it, we 
have got along very comfortably. I think too we 
shall not have so severe a summer. . . . 

With much love and many warm thoughts, 
Ever affectionately yours, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



ON THE MINUTES OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF 1846. 

Ningpo, March 20th, 1847. 

The Minutes of our venerable General Assembly, 
after being long delayed on the way, have at last 
reached this place, and are now lying before me. 
The General Assembly ! How many precious and 
endearing associations are connected with that name ! 
From this heathen land it recalls my thoughts back 
to the land of my birth and early youth; to the 
land of my first Christian hopes and preparation 
for the ministry. It is the land of my parents 
of my brothers and my sisters. It is the land 

J 30* J 



354 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

where many warm friends dwell. It is the land 
where the departed sleep ; a land of privileges and 
light ! Its external and physical advantages are 
great ; for it might be said as was said of Canaan in 
old times, "it is a land flowing with honey and 
milk," and "the eye of God is upon it from the 
beginning of the year to the end of the year." It 
is a land of freedom, and of peace. But its Chris- 
tian privileges are greater still. It is a land of 
Bibles, and Sabbaths, and preaching and revivals. 
It has its Sabbath-schools and religious institutions. 
It has its missionary and its Bible societies, to ex- 
tend to other lands the blessings enjoyed in its own 
borders. The influences of the Spirit, like currents 
of vital air, pervade the land. From its hills and its 
vales go up the voices of prayer and praise, and the 
saints of the Lord are resting in its graves. A 
land highly favoured — its God is Jehovah ! Com- 
pare that land with this, and how painful is the 
contrast ! 

It is pleasant to think that the Church, the min- 
utes of whose highest judicatory are now before me, 
my own loved Church, holds no mean place among 
those which, under God, have made that once wil- 
derness land, to bud and blossom as the rose. " The 
General Assembly of the Church!" I love that name. 
How general and extensive, stretching far and wide, 
throughout the land, yet comprehending and assem- 
bling all together in one brotherhood. How goodly 
is the fellowship of the saints ! The representatives 
of the Church throughout the length and breadth of 
a vast land are assembled here, and that not for any 
selfish purposes, but for the highest and the noblest 
known on earth; they are met to consult for the 
glory of Christ and his cause. "When shall we have 
such a general assembly in this heathen land? 
When shall all the earth see eye to eye, and have 
one General Assembly ? When shall we all go up 
to the General Assembly, and Church of the first- 
born on high ? 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 355 

It has been a deeply interesting employment to 
look over the list of ministers in connection with the 
General Assembly. I have gone over the whole list, 
pencil in hand, and placed a mark against each name 
of those I knew. I have looked to see how many 
of God's people are under the care of each; how 
many additions to the communion of their churches ; 
how many baptisms. I have looked farther, to see 
how active,, now liberal, how benevolent, the flock 
of each has been, and how much they have contri- 
buted to spread the cause of Christ, at home and 
abroad. But let me recall that word "benevolence." 
With most persons it signifies a free gift, or a disposi- 
tion to give, where there is no claim on the giver. 
But surely it is no benevolence to give aught to Him 
of whom we receive our all, and to whom, if we give 
aught, we but give him "of his own." "All things 
come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee." 
To speak more properly, I have looked to see how 
much each church of those 1 knew, has realized of 
its responsibilities and its stewardship, and what 
answer it has given to the question, "How much 
owest thou unto my lord ?" In some cases I have 
almost feared that an unfaithful steward has been 
there, and in place of requiring the full amount, has 
said, " Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write 
fifty, or fourscore." But charity requires me to sup- 
pose that the minutes of the General Assembly give 
only an imperfect account of what each church has 
done. The thought, however, occurs to me, man 
may see and record what we do, or he may not, but 
there is One above who sees and records it all, and 
he has said, " It is required in stewards that a man 
be found faithful." See the whole context, 1 Cor. 
iv. 1-5. 

I love to look over the roll of the General Assem- 
bly. There are many well-known names there. The 
venerable father in Christ, the strong man, the gen- 
tle, loving teacher, friends of my boyhood were 
there : classmates and friends of my College days 



356 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

were there: beloved associates in the Theological 
Seminary were there. If I have numbered aright, 
there are ten with whom I met week after week and 
month after month, to hear the instructions of our 
venerated professors. With you I have sat in the 
same class-room, gone to the house of God in com- 
pany, bowed together in the same prayer-meeting, 
and sat down side by side at the same table of the 
Lord. Tears fill my eyes, as with an overflowing 
heart, the memory of those favoured hours conies 
back; and if it might be so, I could wish for their 
return. Ye are dwelling in the house of God, 
whilst I sojourn in Mesech ! Ye are going up with 
the great congregation, whilst I sit in the tents of 
Kedar! Yet will I remember thee, oh God, from 
the land of Jordan, and the Hermonites, and from 
the hill Mizar. 

Years have passed away since then. Many bil- 
lows roll between us now, and many billows have 
rolled over us since then, yet many recollections of 
those days come up before me in ]ong array. What 
constant friendship did some of us vow, when our 
hearts were warmed as we communed together by 
the way! And there was our resolve to remember 
each other in our prayers on Saturday evening. Do 
ye remember it yet ? God's blessing rest on jou all, 
friends of my heart, associates of my earlier days, 
fellow-labourers in the same church, and expectants 
of the same crown ! And ye too, venerated elders 
of the churches ! Some of you I have known in 
jovlt own homes. Some of my earliest and warmest 
friends were among you. Nor can I ever forget the 
deep feeling with which one of your number, now 
gone to his rest, once said to me, "Ever since I 
knew aught of Christ, it has been my daily prayer 
that I might know more of him ;" or how another of 
your number said on his death-bed, with an empha- 
sis which only the powers of the world to come 
could give, " Oh what a Saviour is Christ ! He is a 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 357 

rock !" May the spirit of those devoted men rest on 
you all ! 

I have read with much interest the proceedings of 
an Assembly, to which I am bound by so many ties. 
How great a privilege it would have been to be 
even a doorkeeper there ! It would be tedious, 
and unreasonable, to tell you half my thoughts, on 
reading over the proceedings. May I be pardoned 
for recording some of my thoughts, on reading a part 
of them ? 

It is natural for each one to feel most interest in 
what most nearly concerns himself and his own im- 
mediate pursuits. The foreign missionary looks 
with peculiar interest to the proceedings of the As- 
sembly in relation to Foreign Missions. Shall I, or 
may I, say what I thought? Perhaps it may be 
wrong, or presumptuous, or censorious ; if so, for- 
give me ; but there was an emotion not unmixed 
with disappointment, on the perusal of the resolutions 
about foreign missions. You know best whether so 
many as nine resolutions were necessary, but it did 
strike me that they were dull, — too many words, 
and the sentences too long. A person almost loses 
his breath before he reads through some of them. 
Would it not have been better, if, with less of the 
chai^acter of a grave homily, there had been a more 
pointed application ? If, instead of merely " griev- 
ing" and "inviting" and "recommending," they 
had embodied in few words a glowing resolution to 
do, and to act? But I will not criticise. liatherlet 
me carefully read them over again, and may God's 
blessing rest on their authors, and on him who reads. 

It is well. The work of missions is important; 
the Church should unite under their own Board : 
missionary intelligence should be diffused ; earnest 
prayer should be offered; and the Jews should 
have an able and efficient mission. It is well that 
the Church, through her highest judicatory, should 
give utterance to these truths. I suppose they were 



358 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

adopted unanimously, as no notice is given of any 
disapprobation or dissent. 

But what shall be, or rather what has been, the 
result of these resolutions ? They are } r our public 
testimony, and not merely recorded in your official 
records, but recorded by one who says, " When thou 
vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it;" and 
who will look to see how official resolutions, which 
bear the nature of a vow, are performed. You have 
gone down from that high position in the General 
Assembly, to your separate flocks. If you carry 
not out your own resolutions, surely no others will. 
Have you then in your separate fields carried out 
the principles, and performed the duties you have 
publicly professed ? Is interest in the missionary 
cause deepening among your own people ? Is mis- 
sionary intelligence more widely diffused ? Do your 
flock take more copies of the Chronicle and Foreign 
Missionary ? Is more prayer offered ? Are more 
efforts made ? Or if not, are we to understand that 
you have already attained to the measure of the 
standard fixed in your resolutions, and need not to 
go beyond it? 

And hoAV do your resolutions compare with those 
of the past or previous years ? What advance has 
been made beyond the stand taken ten, or five years 
ago ? The resolutions of the General Assembly of 
1841 were very good. The Assembly of 1842 re- 
commended that one hundred thousand dollars 
should be raised in that year; but that sum has 
never been raised in any year yet. The resolutions 
of 1844 I have not yet seen, but a kind and cordial 
notice of missionary operations, found a place in the 
narrative of religion of that year. 

I fear it must be said, that the resolutions of the 
General Assembly mark no perceptible advance in 
the state of missionary feeling in the Church. There 
has been a slight increase of pecuniary contribu- 
tions, but the Church has not yet come up to the 
standard fixed by the Assembly of 1842, as then 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 359 

practicable. Brethren, where is the fault? Your 
resolutions, to be of any worth, must be acted out; 
or in the end the people will become hardened by 
them, and instead of good, they will do harm, and 
" the rust of them" will be a witness against your- 
selves. Might I, with all humility, suggest that in- 
stead of a long series of resolutions, a few sen- 
tences, brief and pointed, would be much better, if 
each one who voted for them were to resolve that, 
let others do as they may, he at least would carry 
them out in his own church. Were this course 
adopted, in five successive General Assemblies, nay, 
in only two, what prodigious results would be se- 
cured ! 

But there is one sentence in the last resolution, 
which calls forth my warmest gratitude. The Gene- 
ral Assembly of our Church solemnly assures us 
that your " daily prayer is that the Saviour may be 
present with us, and that the blessing of the Holy 
Spirit may rest on our labours." Oh ye fathers and 
brethren! this one sentence is to us worth more 
than thousands of silver and gold. Let others do 
as they may, we are here assured that in the daily 
prayers of one hundred and thirteen ministers, and 
seventy-six elders, we are remembered. Who would 
not rejoice to be held in "daily" remembrance by so 
many ministers and elders? Who would not feel 
strengthened in his work, by the assurance from the 
highest judicatory in the Church, that at least all 
those who composed that body, every day invoke 
" the presence of the Saviour, and the blessing of the 
Spirit" on his labours ? In the name of every mis- 
sionary of our Church, I thank you for that assurance ; 
for surely God will hear such prayers. May they 
be graciously answered by Him, in blessings on our 
heads, and may they return with tenfold blessings 
on your own ! You are daily praying, and doubt- 
less daily looking for an answer to those prayers. 
God is the hearer and the answerer of prayer, and 
our hearts are revived by the thought. How glori- 



360 MEMOIR OP WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

ous, how blessed to be a member of a Church, so 
large as ours, where such a bond of union exists, 
and where those who occupy the most conspicuous 
stations, assure those farthest off, and least known, 
of an interest in their daily prayers. I cannot al- 
low myself to harbour for one moment the thought, 
that this assurance is a mere unmeaning form of 
words, passed in the routine of business, and forgot- 
ten amidst succeeding occupations or more interest- 
ing pursuits. It cannot so be. 

W. M. Lowrie. 






Ningpo, April 10th ? 1847. 

My Dear Father — Your letter of July 17-20, 
did not come till about ten days or more after the 
things it mentioned had been received. I be- 
lieve everything has come safe. Some of the other 
brethren were not so much favoured, as some three 
or four boxes fell into the hands of pirates between 
Canton and Macao. The pirates are getting exceed- 
ingly bold all along the coast. I was told to-day that 
ten out of the eighteen timber firms in Ningpo had 
shut up their shops this year, as the pirates on the 
coast stopped their ships when coming from Fuh- 
keen province, and required such heavy ransom, 
that it became a losing business. I hardly know 
how I shall get to Shanghai this summer, as it 
is hardly safe to venture out to sea, in our small 
passage boats, when such customers are abroad. At 
present I propose applying for leave to go by way 
of Hangchou, a place I want to see on many ac- 
counts. 

The convention for the revision of the Translation 
of the New Testament, is to meet on the 1st of 
June. I presume you will see the accounts of it as 
soon as any other person. The most interesting 
question likely to be discussed, is the one in refer- 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 361 

ence to a proper term for "God." Increasing dis- 
satisfaction is felt by many with the term Shang-te, 
which Mr. Medhurst patronizes, and the discussion 
of that subject is likely to be an earnest one. I 
should like much if you could find time to make 
yourself familiar with it. You will find in the 
Chinese Repository of 1846 and 1847, several arti- 
cles on both sides. The one in November and 
December, 1846, and January, 1847, shows my 
views. I think, if the principles laid down in the 
article in the November number are granted, that 
the question is settled in favour of " Shin," and I 
should be glad to get the opinion of some Biblical 
scholars on the subject. You will see Mr. Med- 
hurst's views in the January number of this year. 
I think every one of his positions is capable of a 
clear and distinct answer. I hope some one will 
reply to it. I shall probably write an answer my- 
self, but do not expect to publish it, having already 
said as much as becomes so young a student of the 
language. As an evidence of the evil done by using 
the term Shang-te for the name of God, is the fol- 
lowing : — Not long ago a very respectable man came 
to my house one Sabbath. I got into conversation 
with him, and asked him if he knew anything of 
Jesus? He replied, he had heard he was the son 
of "Yuh hwang ta te," the "Jewelled Great Em- 
peror." This is the chief god in the Chinese my- 
thology. His birth-day is on the first month, third 
day; his image is in one of our largest temples; 
and he is known indifferently by the name above 
given, or by that of Shang-te. I never use the term 
now, having uniformly found that the people sup- 
posed I meant their own Shang-te. 

Sabbath evening, April 11. This has been a 
very pleasant day: clear warm, and comfortable. 
Sermon at our church by Mr. Culbertson, on "Joy 
in heaven over one sinner that repenteth." After 
sermon, the eldest boy in the school, of whom you 
have heard several times, and whose full name is . 

31 



362 MEMOIR OF WALTEK M. LOWRIE. 

Yuen Ko Keun, made profession of his faith, and 
was received into the church, in presence of all his 
school-mates, and several other Chinese, by baptism. 
After a short interval, the Lord's Supper was ad- 
ministered. All the services of Baptism and the 
Lord's Supper were in the Chinese language, and 
were conducted by the pastor, Mr. Culbertson. 
This is, I believe, the first case in which any one 
whose first impressions are due, under God, to mem- 
bers of our Mission, has been admitted to the church. 
Others have, it is true, received great benefit from 
our mission; but, humanly speaking, they would 
have been savingly converted if we had not been in 
the field. I suppose in this case, as in the case of 
Apoo, baptized two years ago, that the principal in- 
fluence has been exerted by Mrs. Way, and it is 
worthy of notice how God has been pleased to use 
the youngest, feeblest, (as far as bodily health is 
concerned,) and the most unassuming member of our 
mission, to effect the purposes of his mercy. To 
his name be the glory. As an offset to the above 
pleasing account, take the following : — All the time 
we were engaged in our services, we were disturbed 
by some Chinese carpenters close by, building a 
pleasure-boat for a European resident. I went out 
and requested them to cease, which they promised 
to do, but for some reason did not. Coming home 
from church, I found in one place a number of Budd- 
hist priests reading and chanting prayers over a per- 
son lately deceased; and a few steps further on, a 
table full of victuals spread before a new tomb, and 
a widow woman wailing bitterly. They formed sad 
contrasts to the exercises in which we had been en- 
gaged. 

After a light dinner, I preached on the Eighth 
Commandment, but the audience was neither large 
nor attentive. One man, however, evidently heard 
everything, and indeed so did another, who was sit- 
ting by the door outside when I be^an, but became 
so much interested, that he came close up, and sat 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 363 

down as near me as he could. But most paid little 

attention, and went away as they came 

Monday. Quite warm to-day. I hope this week 
to get through my collection of significations of the 
words used in the Four Books. There are about 
twenty-three hundred different characters. Most 
of them occur in only one or two senses ; but several 
of them occur in such a variety of meanings, that 
it will take no little skill to get them properly ex- 
hibited. After getting through the Four Books, I 
think of laying the subject by for three or four 
months, as I am pretty tired of it. In the fall, if 
life and health be snared, I wish to resume it, and 
treat the Five Classics in the same manner, which 
will be a large job, and I suppose will occupy two 

years at least 

As ever, your affectionate son, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



JOURNAL AT NINGPO. 

January 3d, 1847. Preached on the faith of 
Abraham, to a strange kind of an audience; most 
of them very respectable, but disposed to talk and 
make remarks ; some were very attentive ; but to 
some the story seemed amusing and almost ridicu- 
lous, and the idea of so old a man having a son only 
afforded matter for a laugh. How hard it is to 
preach to such a people — so indifferent, so insensible ! 
I came from my address to my knees; for I am 
made to feel that the treasure is committed to 
earthen vessels. 

Have some encouragement with my servants, 
particularly Azhih, whom I am training carefully in 
religious^ instruction. They take a good deal of 
interest in it, and I cannot but hope are beginning 



364 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

to feel a little. Oh, for God's Spirit to be given to 
them ! 

January 10th. Preached on the character of 
God ; audience much as usual. It is no small trial 
of the spirit to one accustomed to address attentive 
audiences, to have such as I commonly find ; people 
coming in and going out, some making remarks, 
some laughing, some ruder, and only few attending, 
and yet some of even these few taking up the 
strangest notions from the plainest truth. To 
human eyes all such preaching must seem very 
foolishness. Well, be it so. "The foolishness of 
God is wiser than men," and by "the foolishness of 
preaching he will save them that believe." 

The external evidences of Christianity are of 
little use here. The people have as many and as 
famous miracles as we to boast of; and their minds 
are not so trained as to perceive and appreciate the 
evidence, which proves the truth of ours and the 
falsity of theirs. Hence they make no scruple of 
believing whatever we tell of deeds of wonder by 
Christ and his apostles. They can produce parallels 
in their own history. I spoke of the miraculous 
conception of Christ. "Oh, yes," said one, "that 
is true, it is just like a similar event in our history ; 
let me see, where was it?" And after some thought, 
and assisted by one or two others present, he pro- 
duced the circumstance. How should he believe 
my story, or feel more interest in it than I in his ? 
Oh, Spirit of Life, come down ! 

Jan. 24th. A wet, rainy day, and apprehended 
having no congregation again; however, on going 
down, found a very respectably dressed middle-aged 
man named Chuh, who lives somewhere in the city; 
he was very polite and respectful, told me he had 
long " desired to see me, looked up to me for instruc- 
tion," &c, according to the usual routine of Chinese 
ceremonial speech. 

We had some talk, and as there were three or four 
persons present; I delivered my discourse to a very 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 365 

attentive, though small audience. The man took a 
copy of Luke with comments, and promising to come 
again departed. I was very glad of the opportunity 
of talking which was afforded, for I sometimes feel 
greatly cast down, especially when I find little op- 
portunity of speaking for Christ. 

Knowledge that there is such a thing as Christi- 
anity is increasing and spreading in this part of the 
country, as I frequently meet persons who have heard 
at least the name of Jesus. 

Feb. 21st. For the last three or four Sabbaths, 
nothing special has occurred ; audiences varying from 
ten to fifty ; commonly sit and talk more after giv- 
ing my sermon than I used to do, which gives an 
opportunity of more pointed and personal application, 
but also opens the door for any and every kind of 
question, and is very sure, in half an hour, to get off 
to questions about food and clothing, &c. The natu- 
ral man " understandeth not the things of the Spirit." 
One man to-day seemed a very merry sort of a 
fellow, but withal, as respectful as a man could be 
whose only object was to make sport; asked a 
number of questions, and started a hearty laugh 
after each of them, in which he was joined by seve- 
ral others, who seemed to urge him on. At last, I 
asked him why he asked such questions; and 
whether his only object was not, to make sport of 
wrhat I considered a very serious matter. He was 
quite abashed : several persons around him told him 
to be quiet, and he got up and went out. Had quite 
a full house as I talked the second time ; but, alas ! 
it is preaching to dry bones. 0, Spirit! Breath of 
the Almighty ! breathe on these dry bones ! 

Feb. 26th. Took a long walk into the country, to 
some places where I have not before been; was ex- 
ceedingly stared at in one place, where the whole 
village turned out to see me, and the women were 
the most forward and curious of all. Quite abashed 
a little girl by asking her what her name was, as it 
seems she had none. It is not common to give 

31* 



366 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

names to girls. But it is melancholy to see the dis- 
sipation of morals here Oh when shall purity 

prevail, where there is so much vice ? 

Went afterwards and had a pleasant little talk 
with some men in a little resting-house, and then 
came home, well-tired. Some little yellow flowers 
are in blossom now. I saw dandelions in full bloom 
a month or more ago, though there had been a hard 
frost before, and plenty of it since then ; but the cold 
weather must be nearly over now. 

March 14th. Preached in the morning in English, 
on Gal. iv. 7 ; in the afternoon in Chinese, to some 
thirty or forty persons, on the Fourth Commandment ; 
was favoured with as much fluency as I have ever 
had, and fully as good if not better attention. In- 
deed, the congregation to-day would not have done 
discredit to any similar congregation in a Christian 
land. One man came in talking, and I supposed 
meant to keep on talking, but he behaved very quietly, 
only putting in a word now and then. After I had 
said that no work was to be done on the Sabbath, he 
asked, " Then what shall we do — go to sleep V This 
brought on the next part of my subject — Duties to 
be done on the Sabbath. He stayed after service. 
I talked some ; but there were many who wanted to 
talk about the news and trifling matters, and I found 
so little opportunity of saying anything profitable, 
that I soon left them. The man above referred to, 
seemed a man of some learning. He insisted on it, 
that since I was so generous, as to come out here, 
and preach to the people, and advise them to do 
good, I would surely become a god at last! But 
how hard it is to get a Christian idea into their 
heads, to say nothing of impressing it on their 
hearts. After repeating over and over again, the 
statements about God as eternal, true, and holy, they 
are sure to confound all you say with their own gods-. 
This is not because they do not understand what I 
say, for I find that I am pretty well understood ; 
but because ; first, they cannot conceive how it is that 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 367 

their own gods are false gods ; and, second, they have 
no idea of the importance of the subject, to induce 
them to give a serious thought to what they hear, 
and hence, when they hear of the " true God," they 
take it as a matter of course that their own gods are 
intended. 

March 21st. Opened my doors at three, p. m., 
and went down as usual, but there were few pas- 
sers-by. I sat alone for nearly half an hour, having 
only one little boy carrying a baby in his arms, to 
come near me. After a while, two or three well- 
dressed men came in and one sat down, but the 
other two went away. I asked him his name and 
residence, but he did not seem disposed for a con- 
versation. I then opened a copy of Luke and began 
to read it. He asked what it was, and we had some- 
thing to talk about it. Others came in; he praised 
my fluency of utterance and correctness of speech : 
and in answer to some questions, I had a good oppor- 
tunity of giving some outlines of creation and re- 
demption. But the subject had no charms for the 
natural heart; and as soon as I was done, one 
of the men asked, " Is your sovereign a man or a 
woman?" Quite a crowd had now collected, and 
I gave them my sermon as well as I could, which 
was not very well. Some heard it all; some got 
enough before it was half done. One quite respec- 
table looking lady came in and sat down, and she 
at least heard everything that was said. Oh for a 
blessing on her ! 

It is hard preaching, for the audience changes so 
much, that I must go over the same simple truths 
every day, treating all the time of first principles ; 
and this displeases the few who come more than 
once, for having already heard all this, they want 
something else. 

I am teaching the Shorter Catechism to my ser- 
vants, but find it hard work ; first, the Chinese lan- 
guage has no suitable terms for many things, and 
second, my command of the language is not yet 



368 MEMOIR OP WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

sufficient for the circumlocution in such a case. 
There are more terms in the written language than 
in the spoken, but they are of no more use to the 
common people than the Latin and Greek terms in 
theological and philosophical books are to the un- 
learned at home. I know of no term in the language 
to express precisely "chief end." For "decree," 
there is a good word, ming, in the written language, 
but not in the spoken. For " covenant," go is a good 
word, but it is understood only by scholars, nor is 
there any good word for it in the colloquial. " Provi- 
dence," " fall," " redemption," " original sin," " effect- 
ual calling," "justification," "adoption," "sanctifica- 
tion," " privilege," " holy," are all very hard words to 
be put into intelligible Chinese. Most of them may 
be expressed after a sort, in the written language, 
which is very copious, but when it comes to the spoken 
language one is at a loss, and a great deal of circum- 
locution is unavoidable. One of the great difficulties 
in our work lies in this very want of proper terms, 
and I see not how it is to be remedied excepting in 
long and patient use of the most suitable terms we can 
find ; thus, at length, "converting" them from their hea- 
thenish uses and associations to Christian purposes. 

How true are those words, " Sin has reigned unto 
death !" Its power is shown even in forms of speech. 
The application of terms to evil, is an evidence of 
sin reigning. This language is an instrument in 
Satan's hand to blind men to their ruin. But as sin 
hath reigned, so shall grace reign, even in the terms 
of this language, unto everlasting life. Wherever 
sin hath set up its throne and swayed its sceptre, 
there shall grace come in and set up a higher throne, 
and sway a mightier sceptre. Would that I might 
do something for the conversion of this language, and 
through it of this people unto God ! 

Monday, 29th. Busy in the fore part of the day 
with my teacher, and at the Four Books. At three, 
visited Mr. Culbertson. Coming back, was barked 
at unmercifully by several dogs. As soon as I am 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 369 

three steps beyond them, they follow for a square or 
two, barking and yelping without ceasing. It does 
make one feel as a stranger to be barked at in this 
way, for they do not move their tongue to a China- 
man. 

March 31st. All day at my Chinese studies, and 
at the Four Books. At five, p. m., took a walk for 
relaxation. Gathered some spring flowers, for my 
flower-pot ; a few wild lemon flowers, some clover, 
some yellow primroses, some parsley, and one or two 
others. In one place came across a dead dog, and two 
other dogs lying by him. In a few steps beyond, 
saw a flowering almond in full and luxurious bloom. 
So it is in this strange, melancholy world of ours. 
When most pleasantly engaged, you are wounded 
and grieved by some revolting spectacle, and again 
in a moment delighted with some scene almost too 
fair and beautiful for aught but heaven. 

April 1st. In the evening looked over my Chi- 
nese sermon. At first it took me three evenings to 
prepare a discourse, but now I commonly get through 
very easily in one evening. I find I am generally 
understood, but mistakes are often made by begin- 
ners. I often wonder how the Chinese can keep 
such grave faces, when they hear such queer combi- 
nations as we foreigners sometimes make out of 
their language. The only time they ever laughed 
at a mistake I made, was when I spoke of "Peter's 
mother's wife," instead of "Peter's wife's mother." 
Even then some of the elder hearers seemed scan- 
dalized, that the young ones were amused at a mis- 
take of "the guest." 

April 3d. Looked a little into a work in Chinese, 
on astronomy, geography and watch-making, by 
some of the Roman Catholic missionaries of former 
days. It gives the Ptolemaic system of astronomy, 
that the sun and stars move round the earth. In the 
numerous books they published in China, they 
always explained astronomy in the old style, and 
published books and plates, representing the sun 



370 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

and stars revolving round the earth. I have seen 
some of these books. 

April 25th. Preached to some twenty or thirty 
persons on the Tenth Commandment, and was fa- 
voured with a good deal of fluency in speech. 
Several were very attentive ; and after sitting down, 
I got into a conversation which lasted more than an 
hour, in reference to idolatry, creation, redemption, 
the creed, &c. On the whole, it was a very satis- 
factory meeting, yet alas ! without the Spirit of God, 
of what avail is it all? The people laugh at their 
idols, but go and worship them still. 

After dismissing the audience, I found a couple 
of natives of the place, a Mr. Tai, and a Mr. Leu, 
waiting to speak with me. I had seen them both 
before, and the first of them several times. He was 
first led to think about Christianity, by a Chinese 
who came up here with Dr. Macgowan, and who 
first brought him to my notice. Last week he sent 
me a letter requesting baptism, and came to-day to 
speak about it. He said that himself and his friend, 
Mr. Leu, and another, Mr. Chow, whom I have 
also seen, are all pretty much decided for Chris- 
tianity ; and though, as he says, he is much laughed 
at and reviled by his friends, yet he professes a 
determination to persevere even until death. I had 
a tolerably satisfactory conversation with them, and 
we prayed together. 

Worship of ancestors is one of the great features 
of the Chinese religion ; every family has a picture 
of the father and mother, to which incense is offered, 
and religious worship performed. Mr. Tai asked 
what he should do. He said he had taken down 
the pictures and laid them away, and has fully de- 
termined not to worship them any more; "and if I 
should deceive you by saying I do not worship them, 
when I do worship .them, yet I could not deceive 
God." He has, however, been told he should burn 
the pictures. Now this seems hard, for being por- 
traits of his parents, he wishes to keep them just as 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 371 

we would. Does this case fall under the rule of 
destroying every vestige of idolatry, no matter what 
it be? 

April 18th. Finished the first draught of the 
Shorter Catechism in Chinese, and May 11th, 
finished revision of it with teacher. 

May 16th. Preached to-day on heaven; but it 
was talking of things in which the people seemed to 
feel that they had little concern. Had more satis- 
faction in a short extempore address I made after- 
wards, on the main object of Christianity. Two or 
three inquirers were present, who have been attend- 
ing at Dr. Macgowan's, but of late have shown a 
disposition, entirely of their own, to come to me. 
I asked two of them to make some remarks, as I 
knew they had been in the habit of talking on the 
subject of Christianity. They both did so; what 
they said was good enough, but it did not seem very 
direct or impressive. 

I find the Commentary on Luke takes very well ; 
one of them inquired with much interest, if any 
more or other books would be published, remarking 
that it was very hard to understand our Scriptures 
without them, which is true. The drought still con- 
tinues. 



Shanghai, June 3d, 1847. 

My Dear Father — In some of my previous let- 
ters, I mentioned to you my expectation of visiting 
this place. The object is to be present at the Con- 
vention for the revision of the translation of the 
New Testament, to which I have been appointed one 
of the delegates. The other delegates are Drs. 
Medhurst, Boone, Bridgman, and Mr. J. Stronach. 
I do not yet know of any others, and presume there 
are no others. Bridgman and Stronach are not yet 
here, but are expected daily. I supposed the Con- 
vention would not sit more than six or seven weeks, 



372 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

but every one here seems to think that six months 
is the shortest possible time, and a year is spoken 
of as more probable. The work is important enough, 
no doubt, to deserve so much time, though I have 
some doubts as to the expediency of it just now. 
However, as I am the youngest and least skilled in 
Chinese of all the members, I do not expect to do 
very much except to look on and see what is done. 
In the mean time, I expect to pursue my Chinese 
studies, much as at Ningpo, except that I fear I 
shall lose in the practice of the colloquial of that 
place. The dialect here is a good deal like that of 
Ningpo, and yet so much unlike, that while I can 
make myself tolerably well understood, I find a 
good deal of difficulty in understanding others ; but 
a little practice will assist me. 

I left Ningpo, May 24th, but owing to adverse 
winds, had to lie at the mouth of the river till the 
29th. I then came by way of Chapoo to this place 
in three days, one of which, being the Sabbath, 
was spent at anchor in the canal. I did not apply 
for a permit to come by the way of Chapoo, and 
met no molestation or hinderance in passing through 
that place. The route from Ningpo to Shanghai, 
via Chapoo, may now be considered an open route, 
as several foreigners have passed both ways, and no 
notice has been taken of it by the Chinese author- 
ities. It is a great convenience to us, and is one 
among the many evidences how the country is 
opening. Chang-Chow, where the visit of Mr. Abeel 
and myself made so much noise, some years ago, 
has been visited several times of late, and I have no 
doubt that the country will be as wide open in a 
few years as we can desire it. 

Your letter of December 17th reached me last 
week, also two mission letters of November and 
December 

I have referred so often to my Dictionary, that 
I am afraid you will be tired of the very mention 
of it, but I will trouble you once more. I have 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 373 

collected all the significations of all the words in the 
Four Books, and have concluded to go on with the 
work so as to include the Five Classics, though 
perhaps I may not include the Le Ke, a large and 
for the most part very trifling and useless work. 
In the Four Books there are in all two thousand 
three hundred and forty-five different characters, 
and in the Four Books and Five Classics, the Le Ke 
excepted, there are rather more than four thousand 
and two hundred. I may perhaps send a list of 
them some day, from which you will see that the 
great body of the language is contained in them, 
i. e., the great body of the really useful characters. 
Eow, my plan is to give each of these characters 
with its pronunciation in Mandarin, and in the dia- 
lect of each of the five ports now open to foreigners. 
Then to give the etymology of the word from native 
dictionaries, where I think such etymology worth 
notice. Then to give the different significations, 
whether as verbs, nouns, adjectives, &c, and at least 
one quotation to illustrate each signification, with 
reference to the page and line where found. This 
will be the body of the work : but my plan includes 
a good deal more, for as the whole of the ancient 
history, geography, &c. of China, is contained in 
these Four Books and Five Classics, I want my 
work to be a sort of " Classical Dictionary" on these 
points. Hence I propose short biographical, histori- 
cal, geographical sketches under the appropriate 
characters, with references to such native and 
foreign authors as may give the student fuller details. 
You see this is a pretty extensive plan. As to time, 
I have no idea that I can do it in less than five years, 
without neglecting other works, which I think are 
entitled to the first place. 

But here I am met by a great difficulty. We 
have few books in Ningpo. My library is by far 
the best there, and yet it is a poor thing compared 
with some that are in China, and it is miserably de- 
ficient in works relating to China, many of which. 

32 



374 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

are quite essential to me in carrying on my under- 
taking. Is there any way of supplying this want ? 
The books I refer to would cost I suppose some five 
hundred dollars, and would be of great service, not 
merely to myself, but to all our mission, and I think 
ought to be possessed in a mission like ours. I will 
make out a list of them in a few days, and send 
to you by next mail. I mentioned several of them 
in some former letters, which I hope you will be 
able to procure. They are all to be had in Paris or 

Berlin 

My health is very good, and I remain as ever, 
Your affectionate son, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



Shanghai, July 23d, 1847. 
Rev. John C. Lowrie — My Dear Brother : — I am 
in your debt for several letters, which I must now 
endeavour to repay. I have been here nearly two 
months, and as yet I am quite unable to give any 
definite idea when we shall get through. Owing to 
the uncertainty of travelling up and down this coast, 
some members of the Convention did not get here till 
the 28th ult. ; while I, who was punctual to the day, 
had to wait on my oars from the 1st ult. After we 
got together, all went on well for a week, when we 
were stopped by a question which has excited no 
little talk and writing for some time, "What is the 
proper word for God in Chinese?" Morrison and 
Milne have adopted the word Shin, which, according 
to the best judgment I can form, means God, or 
Divinity in general. Mr. Medhurst for many years 
used the same term, and even so late as this present 
year, 1847, has published a dictionary in which he 
says, " The Chinese themselves, for God, and invisible 
beings in general, use shin" But some twelve years 
ago or more, he began to use Shang Te, Supreme 
ruler, for the true God, and shin for false god. Mr. 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 375 

Gutzlaff also did the same ; and these two being the 
best and most experienced Chinese scholars, had of 
course great weight. And most of the missionaries 
were carried away by their example. For some 
years past, however, there has been a good deal said 
on the subject, and a strong disposition manifested 
to return to the old way. S Jiang Te is objected to, 
first, as being the distinctive title of the national 
deity of China, and hence something like the Jupiter 
of Rome ; and second, it is not a generic term, and 
cannot be used in such passages as " Chemosh thy 
god, and Jehovah our God," " If Jehovah be God," 
&c. " The unknown God, him declare I unto you," 
&c. In fact there are many verses where the point 
and emphasis rests on the use of the same generic 
word all through, as in John x. 35, 36, 1 Cor. viii. 
6, &c. Hence of late many of the missionaries wish 
to return to the old word, and a good deal has been 
written in the Chinese Repository, and a great deal 
said on the subject. Dr. Medhurst, however, has 
taken up the cudgels in earnest, and printed a book 
of nearly three hundred pages, in which he maintains 
that shin never means god, much less the supreme 
God. This, by the way, is in opposition to three dic- 
tionaries of his own, published in the last ten years. 
And he further maintains that te, which properly 
means ruler, is the generic term for God in Chinese ; 
and that Bhang Te, "High or Supreme Ruler," is 
the proper word to translate Elohim and Theos, when 
they refer to the true God. So the case stood when 
the Convention met. We went on with the revision 
very well, till we came to Matt. i. 23, where the word 
Theos occurs. Dr. Bridgman then proposed that 
we use the word Shin. Bishop Boone seconded this ; 
and it was well known that my views coincided with 
theirs. Dr. Medhurst and Mr. Stronach took de- 
cided ground for Bhang Te: and so we have now 
been discussing this question for three weeks, Med- 
hurst and Boone being chief speakers. The latter 
is a superior debater, and having a very quick and 



376 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

logical mind, pressed Dr. Medhurst so closely, that 
he _ declared he must have all down in black and 
white. We agreed to this, and Bishop Boone and 
myself worked hard for a week, and wrote out an 
argument for Shin, covering twenty-six folio pages. 
Dr. Medhurst, who had spent five months in writing 
his book, and scarcely allowed us ten days to answer 
it, took our answer so seriously, that he said he must 
have some weeks to prepare a reply. So he and Mr. 
Stronach are now engaged on this. I greatly fear 
that the result of all will be, that each side will hold 
their own views, and Dr. Medhurst and Mr. Stro- 
nach will secede. In that case there will be two ver- 
sions or none. A large majority of the missionaries 
in China, I believe, are for Shin; most of our mis- 
sionaries are strongly for it, though one or two hesi- 
tate a little ; all the Baptists ; all the Episcopalians, 
both English and Americans ; most of the American 
Board missionaries, and several even of the London 
Missionary Society. This of itself is a strong proof 
for Shin, for it shows that even the acknowledged 
Chinese scholarship of Medhurst and Gutzlaif is not 
able to command assent for Slicing Te. But I did 
not mean to write so much on this. 

. . . This summer, so far, has been very pleasant; 
nothing like so hot as last year. I am staying at 
Bishop Boone's, where they make me feel very com- 
fortable. Hitherto our agreement of views on the 
question we have been discussing, has made us the 
best of friends. He is of course a strong Episcopa- 
lian, but withal very catholic, and speaks very cor- 
dially of "other churches" and their ministers as 
" ministers of Christ." He has shown an excellent 
spirit, thus far, in the convention. 

Mr. Milne often speaks of you with much kind- 
ness. He and Medhurst and Stronach, are all well. 
Believe me ever, 

Your affectionate brother, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 377 

Shanghai, 29th July, 1847. 

My Dear Father— .... I think it probable that 
we shall have the remainder of the discussions re- 
specting the term for God next week. It is my 
daily prayer that we may be directed to a right 
conclusion. The importance of the subject seems to 
grow the more it is examined, though this is often 
the case, even in unimportant matters, when the 
mind is intently fixed on them ; and the more ex- 
amination I give it, the more I feel satisfied that 
without the generic term for God, it will be extremely 
difficult to give the Chinese correct ideas of our 
theology. If that word be not Shin, I am utterly 
unable to see what it is. Dr. Medhurst now says 
it is Te, but this is an idea taken up within the last 
five months, and is in opposition to all his own dic- 
tionaries, and translations, and to all the experience 
of all who have ever written in or on the language. 
I make my remarks in this sweeping style, because 
convinced of their truth. Even the Chinese say, 
"We don't use the word Te in that sense." Oh for 
the Spirit of wisdom and grace to direct us ! It is 
a matter of much thankfulness that Dr. Boone's 
health permits him to take an active part in the dis- 
cussion; as the character of his mind and acquire- 
ments, and his readiness as a debater, are of the 
utmost importance in discussing with Dr. Medhurst. 
Having no fondness for such contests, I sav but lit- 
tle ; but spend a good deal of time with l)r. B. in 
examining the subject in the native Chinese authors. 

I hope in the next overland to be able to give an 
account of the close of the discussion. In the 
meantime, I suppose it will be better not to publish 
anything about it, beyond the general fact of the 
Convention being in session. 

I am anxious to study the Manchu Tartar, a lan- 
guage not studied as yet by any one of the mis- 
sionaries, but of great importance in explaining 
Chinese, as the French scholars have shown in their 

32* 



378 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

books published in France; and which, as this 
country becomes open to us, and allows us to go 
further north, will be found to be of great utility. 
See an article on this subject in the Chinese Re- 
pository of 1844, by Mr. Cushing. For this, I 
would like the following books: — Gerbillon, Ele- 
ments Linguae Tartaric* ; Amyot, Grammaire Tar- 
tare Mantcnou ; Langles, Dictionnaire Tartare Mant- 
chou Frangais, 3 vols. 4to j Klaproth, Chrestomathie 
Mandchou: Paris, 1828. 

So far the summer is very pleasant, and my 
health better than in any previous summer. . . . 
Your very affectionate son, 

W. M. Lowrie. 



Shanghai, August 8th, 1847. 

Rev. Joseph Owen — Dear Brother : — I wrote to 
you some time ago a letter which I hope you have 
received. I now write on a special occasion, and 
shall be very glad if you can give me a pretty full 
answer by return mail. I am here attending a Con- 
vention for revising the Translation of the New 
Testament into Chinese. We are divided on one 
point of great importance. Some of us in transla- 
ting D^!lr?N and 0fog, wish to use the word Shin, 
which is the Chinese term for God, or Divinity in 
general. It is applied to all their gods, from the 
highest to the lowest, and to the spirits of ances- 
tors, which are always deified and worshipped by 
their descendants ; and the being who is supposed 
to be in all their idols is also called Shin. Hence it 
is the generic term for God, just as ©eo$, (" Gods 
many and Lords many, but to us one God," &c.) 
Others of us prefer the term Shang-te, which means 
Supreme Ruler, and is the name or title of the chief 
divinity worshipped by the Chinese. This is not a 






MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 379 

generic term, nor capable of being applied alike to 
true and false gods, nor of being used in the plural. 
Such is the state of the case. 

What I want to ask is, what is the custom in In- 
dia? Do you find any term applied by the natives 
to all their gods ? And do you use this term, and 
say, "You worship many gods, but they are false, 
and we preach to you the true God?" Or do you use 
a distinct term, in speaking of the true God, from 
that used to designate false gods ? 

Some say that in Arabic there is one term for the 
true God, which is used for him alone, and others 
for false gods ; and that in such sentences as " Che- 
mosh thy god, and Jehovah our God," (Judges xi. 
24,) different words are used to express the word 

D^H7&. Is this so? Any light you can give us 
will be very valuable. Please direct to me at this 
place, care of m. Rev. W. J. Boone, D. D., Shang- 
hai, as I shall probably be here when your answer 
comes. 

The question is a very important one here, and 
has been a good deal discussed. Medhurst, and 
Gutzlaff, and John Stronach are the chief advocates 
of Shang-te; Legge, Bridgman, Boone, and myself, 
are among the supporters of /Shin, as were Morrison 
and Milne before, and a majority of the present 
missionaries in China. 

My health is very good, as is that of most of 
the members of our mission, saving the languor 
produced by the heat of summer. Poor Brother 
Speer has lost both his wife and daughter. Dr. 
Medhurst preaches three times every Sabbath, and 
twice during the week, to audiences varying from 
one hundred to four hundred persons. Two or three 

Sersons have been baptized here, and as many in 
[ingpo, and on the whole, we are encouraged. 
With kind regards to Mrs. Owen, and a kiss to 
your son, believe me, in haste, ever 

Affectionately yours, W. M. Lowrie. 



380 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 



From the Rev. A. W. Loomis, of the JSfingpo Mission. 

Ningpo, August 25th, 1847. 

Walter Lowrie, Esq. — Honoured and very Dear 
Sir : — It has become my painful duty to act on this 
occasion as the bearer of mournful tidings, and may 
you, my dear sir, and your family be enabled to say, 
" It is the Lord, let him do as seemeth him good." 
I need not attempt to hide anything from you : 
for your Glod, who has enabled you cheerfully to 
consecrate one after another of your clear children to 
his service here below, will enable you submissively 
to resign them when they are called to his service 
above. I trust you will be able to say, " The Lord 
gave, and the Lord hath taken away : blessed be 
the name of the Lord." 

Our brother, Walter M. Lowrie, whom we loved, 
is no more, for God has taken him. We have con- 
fidence that our loss is his unspeakable gain. The 
stroke has fallen heavily upon us, yet He who 
loved him infinitely more than we could, saw fit to 
take him to himself. 

The news of this melancholy event reached here 
yesterday, brought by Mr. Lowrie's long tried and 
faithful servant, and by another Chinaman in the 
employment of the mission. [Mr. Loomis then 
mentions that this man had been sent from Ningpo 
to Shanghai, where Mr. Lowrie was attending the 
Convention for the revised translation of the New 
Testament, requesting him to return to the station 
at Ningpo, with reference to certain occurrences at 
that station.] Mr. Lowrie, with these two attend- 
ants, set out from Shanghai on Monday, August 
16th, by the canal to Chapoo. They arrived, all 
well, at Chapoo, on the morning of the 18th. A 
boat was engaged, one of the regular passenger 
boats, and on the evening of the 18th all went on 
board with their baggage, to^ be in readiness for 
an early departure next morning. During the day 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 381 

of the 18th inst., he had been about through the 
city without anything unpleasant having occurred 
in his treatment by the Chinese. On the morning 
of the 19 th, the boat in which they had taken 
passage set sail very early. The wind was unfa- 
vourable, being strong from the South. Accordingly 
it was necessary to beat, and the boat sailed, as 
is supposed, about twelve miles in a south-easterly 
direction ; when suddenly a vessel was seen bear- 
ing down upon them very rapidly. It was a craft 
like those which belong to Chapoo, with three masts 
and eight oars. At the sight of this vessel the 
boatmen and other Chinamen (passengers) in the 
boat, were greatly terrified, and were for turning 
back, but Mr. Lowrie endeavoured to allay their 
fears. As they drew nearer, he showed a small 
American flag which he had with him, but still they 
came on, and soon discharged their fire-arms. Upon 
this, he went to the inner part of the boat, having 
been previously standing in the open part of the 
boat in the bow. When the pirates came, they 
boarded the boat with swords and spears, and began 
to thrust and beat all who stood in their way; espe- 
cially they seemed to seek out and maim the sailors, 
or the strong and able-bodied, to put an end to their 
interference. All agree in stating that they did 
not see a single blow inflicted on Mr. Lowrie. He 
is said to have seated himself on a chair or box, and 
remained quietly ; and when they were breaking 
open a trunk with their heavy spears, he took out 
the key and gave it to them, saying, " There is no 
need to break it open, here is the key." The pirates 
continued their work of plunder, breaking open 
everything and taking out such things as they 
wished, and stripping even the clothes from the 
Chinamen. Yet they did not touch anything that 
was on him; even his watch, and perhaps seven 
or eight dollars that were in his pocket, they did 
not take. They stripped and beat his servant, 
which he requested them to stop, as the poor man 



382 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

was sick. Being probably unable to stay and witness 
such cruelty, he then went out and sat on the bow 
of the boat. 

Before they had finished plundering, something 
seemed to have awakened a fear in the minds of the 
pirates, lest when he reached Shanghai they would 
be reported to the authorities, whereupon they 
debated for a moment whether they would kill him 
or throw him alive into the sea. They hastily 
determined upon the latter, and two men seized 
him ; and they being unable to effect their purpose, 
another came up, and he was thrown overboard. 
One of the boatmen, who was near him during his 
last moments, states that while the pirates were ran- 
sacking the boat, he was engaged in reading his 
pocket Bible, and when they seized him on deck, he 
had it still in his hand. As they were in the act 
of casting him into the sea, he turned himself par- 
tially around, and threw his Bible upon the deck.* 
He had also the presence of mind, as he was going 
overboard, to throw off his shoes, and he swam 
about for some time in the water. He was seen to 
turn several times, as if he would struggle towards 
the boat; but as one of the pirates stood with a long 
pole, having an iron hook at the end, in his hands, 
ready to strike him when he approached, he desisted, 
and soon sank. Such has been the sad end of our 
dear brother. . . . 

I will not add to your distress by alluding to the 
deep gloom caused by this most melancholy news. 
May our Lord remember us in this bereavement. 
May his parents and relatives be able to say, 
" Though he slay me yet will I trust in him." 
With much respect, 

I am yours in the Lord, 

A. W. Loomis. 

* This Bible was afterwards found and taken to Ningpo. It is a copy 
of Bagster's 12mo. edition in Hebrew, Greek, and English. It is the 
same copy he preserved with so much difficulty and care in his shipwreck 
in the Harmony. 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 383 



From the Right Rev. W. J. Boone, D. D., of the 
Protestant Episcopal Mission at Shanghai. 

Shanghai, August 31st, 1847. 

Walter Lowrle, Esq : — My Dear Sir :- — I cannot 
resist the strong impulse of my heart to commune 
with you, and to mingle my sorrows and tears with 
yours at this time. Our merciful and loving heav- 
enly Father has seen good, in his infinite wisdom, 
to afflict us all in a very tender point. To you 
especially, my dear sir, he has sent a very heavy 
trial. May his grace be abundantly bestowed to 
enable you to bear it with entire submission to his 
will. Indeed, my dear sir, he is too wise to err: 
too good to do what is unkind. 

In his infinite wisdom it has seemed good to him 
to take to himself your beloved Walter; and that, 
too, under circumstances which have wrung our 
hearts with anguish. My heart's prayer for you is, 
that when you hear the sad story, you may be 
enabled to say with the aged Eli, "It is the Lord; 
let him do whatsoever seemeth to him good." 

He has done so, and, in this case, not in wrath, 
but in mercy and in loving kindness. He has re- 
moved your dear son from his vineyard on earth to 
a nobler service in his sanctuary above. 

His work was done. The time of his removal 
arrived, and the circumstances thereof I am per- 
suaded were ordered for the benefit of us who sur- 
vive, rather than for anything to be effected thereby 
on our dear brother himself. 

You will no doubt receive full particulars from 
your brethren at Ningpo, but lest their letters may 
not reach you by this overland mail, I will mention 
them. You are aware that he was at Shanghai as 
a member of the translating committee. On Satur- 
day, the 14th day of August, he received a letter 
from his brethren at Mngpo, requesting him to join 
them immediately. [Dr. Boone here relates the 



384 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

particulars of this melancholy event, as given in the 
letter of Mr. Loomis.J . . . His servant escaped to 
Ningpo, and communicated these particulars, which 
we devoutly thank God he has permitted to reach 
us, so that we hear of him to the last moment, and 
that these violent men did not mangle his body. 

Oh, my dear brother, I feel that these are sad 
tidings to write to an affectionate father of a son, 
and of such a son ; but for our consolation we can 
surely say that the finger of God was never more 
manifest in the removal of any of his servants than 
in this case. To my mind, the very slightness of the 
secondary causes upon which his life and death 
seemed to turn, manifests the clearness of the Divine 
Decree to take him to his Heavenly Home. 

This event has thrown my family, who had the 
privilege to enjoy his company for the last two 
months and a half of his earthly existence, into the 
deepest affliction. Dearly as I know he was be- 
loved by the mission with which he was connected, 
yet I believe no one in China mourns his loss as I 
do. We were together daily for two months and a 
half, labouring together in what we both believed to 
be the most important matter connected with our 
Master's cause m China, with which we had ever 
been connected. 

Circumstances occurred when he was under my 
roof which drew our hearts very closely together, 
and which now, as I look back upon them after 
what has just transpired, I cannot but regard as a 
merciful preparation to him for his sudden death. 
Whilst he was with me I was twice threatened with 
attacks of the brain, which I thought would prove 
fatal in a few days. On these occasions we had 
much conversation on the subject of a sudden sum- 
mons, and how a Christian should live and feel in 
view of such an event. The person whose call was 
supposed to be near at hand was myself. We never 
dreamt that he was so near the confines of eternity ; 
but he entered into the subject with me with all nis 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 385 

heart. Never have I heard any one converse, who 
had a more delightful state of child-like simplicity 
of heart in relying upon the Saviour. I remember 
particularly our conversation, when we were sitting 
alone one moonlight night, upon my terrace. We 
were speaking of the case of a man removed from his 
field of labour in the prime of early manhood, when 
he gave promise of daily increasing usefulness. His 
train of thought was striking, and much impressed 
my mind ; it was intended for consolation to me. 
God grant it may prove so to you, my dear sir, 
when you read it. He said he could not view this 
matter as most Christians seemed to do. He could 
not call it mysterious, peculiarly distressing, as was 
commonly done. On the contrary, to his mind, 
there was something peculiarly cheering to survivors 
in such a death. In the case of an old man, he was 
removed in the common course of events. Even to 
our eyes his work was done. But not so with the 
case of which he was speaking. The peculiarity of 
it was, that there was promise of much more to be 
done here for the glory of Christ. This world, how- 
ever, we may be well assured, is but the first stage 
of our existence : God's children are employed in 
services infinitely more glorious, and that conduce 
much more to the glory of his holy name, in the 
sanctuary above, than any employments entrusted 
to them on earth. Should we not then, said he, use 
their early manhood, their manifest capacity, for 
usefulness in the vineyard here below, — indeed, 
every argument which can be pleaded, derived from 
their prospective usefulness to the Church on earth, 
to assure ourselves that God has called them to a 
more than common post of usefulness in the Church 
triumphant? His modesty and deep humility would 
have prevented his applying this to his own death, 
but from my heart I adopt it as the true interpreta- 
tion of our Heavenly Father's dealing with him and 
with his cause in China in this instance. 

If this be the true view of the case, most cheer- 

33 



386 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

ing indeed is the assurance it affords us of his pres- 
ent happy state and glorious position. 

No one in China promised to do more for the 
cause of our Divine master than he. Just brought 
out by his brethren's choice to a participation in the 
work of revising the translation of the Scriptures, 
this call upon him was having the happiest effect in 
overcoming his disposition to modest retirement, 
and making him feel the necessity that was laid 
upon him, to take a more prominent stand among 
those whose attainments in the language qualified 
them to participate in all of a general character that 
was doing to advance the Saviour's cause. In the 
unhappy division of opinion which exists with re- 
spect to the proper word by which to render Theos 
(God) he took a prominent part in the discussion, 
and wrote on this subject one of the ablest articles 
that appeared in the Chinese Repository. 

He was daily growing in power, and the field of 
usefulness was continually opening wider and wider 
before him ; but God had work for him above this 
vale of tears, and now leaves us mourning and sor- 
rowing, to do the great work without his aid. 0, 
that by the Spirit's gracious influences he may more 
than supply this loss to us, and that the work, for 
which our beloved brother was labouring with all his 
powers when he was taken away, may be so accom- 
plished that his own most holy name may be glori- 
fied thereby. 

We had promised each other, that if my life was 
spared, we would labour much together to set the 
plain doctrines of the cross, by means of tracts, 
before this people ; but, alas ! he is not, for God has 
taken him. 

May we not suppose that the object of our 
gracious Saviour, in giving us, in addition to the 
general promise of the resurrection of all at the last 
day, the special assurance that " the sea shall give 
up its dead," is to assuage the grief of those who 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIEl 387 

have been bereaved as you are, and whose precious 
ones lie buried in the deep. 

Believe me, my dear sir, very sincerely yours, in 
the hope of a common resurrection with our beloved 
brother. Wm. J. Boone. 



From the Rev. John Lloyd, of the Amoy Mission* 

Amoy, September 17th, 1847. 

Walter Lowrie, Esq. — My Dear Mr. Lowrie: 
— Yesterday, I received the sad, the very sad intel- 
ligence of Walter's death. I need not tell you how 
much I was affected by this afflictive event. Walter 
was very dear to me. I loved him with a brother's 
love. He was my dearest earthly friend. We were 
born into God's glorious family about the same time. 
We entered the church on the same day. We 
formed the resolution of devoting ourselves to the 
work of foreign missions about the same time. We 
often took sweet counsel together, and walked to the 
house of God. We often talked together of God's 
kind dealings with us. We often spoke of our hopes. 
I recollect one instance of this kind which occurred 
at Jefferson College. We went out into the groves 
to commune with each other, and as we talked by 
the way, our hearts did burn within us. Walter 
often alluded to this walk and talk in the groves of 
Canonsburgh in his letters, and spoke of it as an 
antepast of the joys of heaven. All this intimacy 
with him while we were in college, gave me oppor- 
tunities of learning his worth. I knew his inward 
mind on those subjects which were nearest and 
dearest to his heart, and I can most freely say that 
the more I knew him the more I loved him. 

* This able and beloved Missionary has also finished the work which 
his Master had for him to do in China. He died at Amoy, of typhus 
fever, on the 6th day of December, 1848. Thus after a short interval, 
these two friends met, as we trust, in the presence of the Saviour, to 
be separated no more for ever. 



388 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

After "Walter left college, I saw no more of him 
till I met him in Macao, in October, 1844. In the 
providence of God our meeting was of short dura- 
tion. I soon left that place for Amoy. What I saw 
of him there gave me higher notions of his piety, of 
his sound judgment, and of his intellectual character, 
than ever I entertained before. My love and admi- 
ration could not but be increased. I heard him 
preach and address religious meetings only two or 
three times. He was very solemn, and his solem- 
nity was contagious, if I may use the expression. 
It possessed the rare quality of radiating from its 
centre, and entering the hearts of all around. Hence 
his discourses, which were plain and practical, always 
took hold of the feelings as well as the intellect. 
One never wearied listening to them, and one always 
left the meeting feeling that he had received both 
instruction and spiritual benefit from what he had 
heard. 

My dear Mr. Lowrie, it is not my intention to 
write an eulogy upon Walter; but I cannot but feel 
that you, and I, and the Church of God have sus- 
tained a very great loss. This loss more nearly con- 
cerns you, and though I cannot fully appreciate a 
parent's tender feelings and yearnings in behalf of 
his beloved offspring, yet I can realize in some de- 
gree the depth of that grief which the news of this 
severe affliction will produce in your mind. I most 
deeply sympathize with you. My heart bleeds for 
you. I feel totally unfitted to administer consola- 
tion. The blow is too heavy to admit of alleviation 
by anything that I can say. 1 can but weep with 
you over the loss sustained. But, though I cannot 
afford relief to your mind in this season of sorrowful 
bereavement, yet there is one who sympathizes with 
you, and who is fully able to console you in this 
hour of heavy affliction. That Jesus, whom Walter 
loved, knows the depth of your grief. He knew it 
before the sad event occurred. He has consolation 
for all the sons and daughters of affliction. He is a 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 389 

tender comforter. The bruised reed will he not break, 
the smoking flax will he not quench. To him you can 
go with all confidence. He is waiting to hear your 
cries. What a privilege God's dear children possess ! 
When God afflicts them, he does it as a tender, 
loving parent — he does it for their good. This 
affliction is for our good. I feel it to be intended for 
my good. I had wrong views in relation to God's 
work in China; I almost felt that it could not go 
forward without Walter. I felt that we must have 
him to control and counsel us, to manage our opera- 
tions, to rebuke us when wrong, to encourage us 
when right. I felt that we needed him to oversee 
the press, to prepare tracts, to assist in revising the 
Scriptures. I knew that God had endowed him with 
a noble intellect, had given him a sound judgment, had 
bestowed upon him much grace, and had eminently 
fitted him for a high station in this great harvest- 
field. I knew all this, and felt that we could not 
spare him. But God's thoughts and ways are not 
as ours. He has taught me that he can do without 
us, even the best of us. He has no need of our 
poor assistance. When he sees fit, he calls us to 
himself. He has called Walter thus. We idolized 
him. God has rebuked us. But he has taken 
Walter to himself. This is my consolation. I have 
no doubts on this point. I feel as sure as I can on 
any subject based on moral evidence, of the safety 
of Walter. He is happy beyond conception. We 
mourn his loss and feel our spirits depressed, but he 
is beyond the influence of sorrow's pains. Walter 
wrote me not long ago a letter, in which he spoke 
freely of his feelings. He was mourning over in- 
bred corruption, and found all his hope in Christ. I 
thought for a moment of sending this letter to you, 
but what need is there for this ? You have many 
letters from him, the spirit and sentiment of which 
leave your own mind free from all doubt as to Wal- 
ter's personal interest in the blood of the precious 
Saviour. 

33* 



390 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

I love to think of Walter. Many of the sweetest 
spots of my existence teem with delightful recollec- 
tions of him. It may seem strange, but it is true, 
that the thought of being saved with Walter and 
dwelling with him for ever in heaven, has often filled 
my soul with peculiar emotions of joyful satisfaction, 
and has aroused into life a sweeter affection for the 
blessed Saviour, who was pleased to give me a title 
to the same inheritance which he has conferred on 
him. Walter has already entered upon the enjoy- 
ment of that inheritance, and is now employed with 
the patriarchs and prophets, with the apostles and 
martyrs, and with the general assembly of the first 
born in heaven, sounding the high praises of him who 
loved him and washed him in his own blood, and 
made him a king and a priest unto God and his 
Father. He was ripe for the kingdom and his work 
was done, and so God took him to himself, and now 
employs him in the upper sanctuary in a higher and 
holier service. 

Would that I could fill up the void which this sad 
bereavement will make in your parental heart ! But 
I have hopes that God will sustain you. He ena- 
bled you to give up Walter with cheerfulness to the 
work of Missions. He enabled you to bear up under 
the distress of a long separation. Surely he will not 
now forsake you in this the extremity of your grief! 
I trust you will feel that the cause of missions still 
needs your aid; that the Church has work for you 
still to do; and especially that God, by this dark 
and mysterious dispensation of his providence, is 
preparing you for more self-denying labours in the 
station which he has called you to occupy. God 
may intend by this event to accomplish more for 
that cause which Walter so dearly loved, than 
(speaking humanly,) could have been accomplished 
by him if he had been spared many years. Of one 
thing we are sure, God does nothing wrong. He 
brings good out of evil; all his ways and all his 
dealings with the children of men are right and holy. 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 391 

May we therefore be submissive ; may we bow and 
kiss the rod and him that hath appointed it; may 
the blessed Spirit save us from all murmuring on ac- 
count of his dispensations; may he give us meek 
and lowly minds; may he sanctify to us all his 
heavy afflictions, and may he make them work out 
for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of 
glory ! May the God of grace sustain you. 
Yours with all sympathy, 

John Lloyd. 



From the Rev. Joseph Owen, of the Allahabad Mission. 

Allahabad, November 19th, 1847. 

My Dear Mr. Lowrie — We have just received 
from China the distressing news of your beloved son's 
death, and there is in the Mission a deep and uni- 
versal feeling of sorrow and sympathy, which I have 
been requested on their behalf, to express to you. 
Some of us knew your dear son personally, and are 
thus in some measure prepared to appreciate the loss 
to you and all your family and friends, caused by 
his death. We all knew him, through the Mis- 
sionary Chronicle, as a faithful ambassador for 
Christ, in perils often, perils of water, perils of rob- 
bers, suffering shipwreck, and spending nights and 
days on the deep. I had the privilege of knowing 
him as a beloved fellow-student, and, since we have 
been in the eastern world, as a dear friend and cor- 
respondent. Four days ago, on the 15th inst., I re- 
ceived from him a letter, dated Shanghai, Aug. 8th, 
where he was attending a Convention for the revi- 
sion of the New Testament in Chinese. He wished 
an answer by return mail, to some inquiries respect- 
ing the terms we use in the India dialects to repre- 
sent the Supreme Being, and wrote in good health, 
and encouraged with his prospects of usefulness. On 



392 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

the envelope I found with sad surprise, the following 
lines from Brother Harper, dated Canton, Sept. 21st. 
"You will excuse my opening this envelope to in- 
form you of the lamented death of the beloved wri- 
ter of this note. He was murdered by pirates, when 
returning from Shanghai to Ningpo, Aug. 19th, near 
Chapoo. They threw him into the sea, and he was 
drowned. All our Missions are in deep grief. Our 
ablest and best man has fallen." These sad tidings 
were confirmed the next day by the Friend of India, 
in which we found an extract from the China Mail 
of September, which I have had copied, and will 
send to you with this. You will no doubt have 
heard directly from China before this reaches you, 
yet every scrap of intelligence on the subject will be 
valued by you, and therefore I send you all that we 
have. 

This is indeed a mysterious dispensation of Divine 
Providence. Truly God's ways are not as our ways, 
nor his thoughts as our thoughts. Dear Walter was 
qualified in no ordinary degree for the great work in 
which he was engaged. His excellent scholarship, 
ripe judgment, extensive and matured knowledge of 
China, the deep foundation which he had laid in its 
difficult language, and above all his unwavering and 
ardent love to the Redeemer and his Church, pre- 
pared him to be very extensively useful in that im- 
mense field. But God has again shown us, that the 
excellency of the power in the great work of the 
world's conversion, is to be, not of us, but of Him, 
and given another illustration of that great truth, 
" Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit." I 
feel that another tie to earth is broken. I loved 
Walter most sincerely, and have known and loved 
him ever since he was nineteen years old. Many of 
our pleasant interviews I shall never forget, and I 
trust we shall with delight converse about them here- 
after. In particular, I remember the kind visit he 
paid me, at my father's, a short time before I left 
America. We took a long ramble together in the 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 393 

fields, enjoying the sweet fresh air of spring, part of 
the time on the winding, beautiful banks of the Cro- 
ton, and conversing of our future prospects. His 
heart was then towards Africa, but subsequently 
God directed him to that glorious field in which he 
has now fallen. His usefulness, however, has not 
terminated with his sojourn on earth. His name is 
precious, not only to those who intimately knew 
him, but it must be to thousands. His career was 
short, but very eventful. He was called not only to do, 
but to suffer much for the Lord Jesus, and he did it 
as a good soldier, falling eventually as a leader in 
one of the foremost ranks. A breach has been made 
by his fall, not easily filled. God grant that his ex- 
ample of labour and patience, of zeal and wisdom, 
of faith and love, may call forth many dear youth 
from our American Zion, to count not their lives 
dear to themselves in publishing the glorious gospel 
to the land of Sinim. He has been removed from a 
lower to a higher sphere of service. Though he 
rests from his labours, yet he is not inactive. But 
we see through a glass darkly. We know little, and 
in our present state are capable of knowing but little, 
of the glorious service in which he has joined the 
redeemed around the throne. The dark, fearful bil- 
lows that closed above him as he sank into the sea 
could not contain his spirit. In a feAv minutes his 
ransomed soul was with the blessed Redeemer, for 
ever beyond the violence of earth and of hell. And 
if the kind, considerate authorities at Mngpo should 
not succeed in recovering his remains, it will matter 
little after a while ; the day will soon come when the 
sea shall give up its dead, when the members of 
Christ's body scattered throughout its immense, dis- 
mal caverns, shall all be recovered, brought and 
joined to their Head, and for ever made like to his 
glorious body. We may be sure that the Omniscient 
and Omnipotent Saviour will not allow one particle 
of his purchased possession to be lost. We hope 
soon to be with him in the midst of the glorified 



394 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

throng. We are repeatedly and emphatically re- 
minded that the fashion of this world passeth away. 
The tidings that you conveyed to me a little more 
than two months ago, were some of the most pain- 
ful that I ever received. I was looking forward 
with very great happiness to having my own dear 
brother with me here. But the disappointment, with 
the almost certain prospect of his speedy death, is a 
deep affliction. I bless God who has not allowed a 
murmuring thought to arise in my heart. He knows 
what is best for his Church, infinitely better than 
we do, and the multitude of his ransomed ones in 
India and China, shall surely be brought home, 
though we and all others now on the field should 
fall. God is trying his Church by terrible things 
in righteousness. He has taken to himself some of 
our most useful fellow-missionaries of late. On the 
19th of Aug. your son; on the 1st of Sept. the Rev. 
J. Macdonald of the Free Church Mission, Calcutta, 
a very holy, useful man; on the 7th of Sept. Mrs. 
Hill, who had been for twenty years a faithful mis- 
sionary at Berhampore; and not long ago Mr. 
Whittlesey, a very useful missionary of the Ame- 
rican Board, died in Ceylon. Other useful labour- 
ers are obliged to leave the field, as dear Brother 
Rankin, and Mrs. Scott. And others God is keep- 
ing from coining. Ought not the Church to think 
of these things ? These are loud calls to us here, to 
the Committee at home, to the ministers and elders, 
to the sons of the prophets, to every individual in 
the Church, to humble ourselves under the mighty 
hand of God, that in due time he may lift us up. 
Yours affectionately, 

Joseph Owen. 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 395 



From the Rev. John M. Lowrie. 

Wellsville, Ohio, January 26 th, 1849. 

Dear Uncle — I enclose several letters to me from 
cousin Walter. As we were so much together 
while he was in the College and in the Seminary, 
our communications were chiefly personal and not 
written. I will therefore give you some of his reli- 
gious experience and views during these periods. 

If I were drawing off a sketch of his character as 
a student at College and in the Theological Semi- 
nary, I would notice some such points as these. 

His first care was attention to his own spiritual 
wants. I never knew a man more scrupulously 
careful to maintain punctual and deliberate habits 
of private devotion. We were for a short time 
occupants of the same room; and it was arranged 
that our hours of exercise should leave the room 
private to each of us in turn. Many times when this 
arrangement was interrupted, I have known him 
enter a little closet in one corner of the room, that 
no eye might see him while he sought his Father's 
face. 

It was chiefly his desire to secure uninterrupted 
hours and seasons unknown to any, for devotional 
duties, which led him to secure a room by himself 
during the greater part of his course, after his pro- 
fession of piety. His seasons of fasting I sometimes 
knew, because we ate at the same table; but at 
other times, I think, he so arranged them in connec- 
tion with visits to friends in the country, that we 
supposed him not yet returned from a visit, when, 
in truth, he had exchanged his social intercourse for 
a season of solitary communion with his God. And 
I have often knocked at his door for admittance, 
when I knew he was within, but he would not reply, 
for he wished uninterrupted his seasons of devotion 
and of study. It seemed also remarkable to me 
that he so well maintained his devotional habits 



396 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

when absent from home. I have no knowledge of 
any friend whose habit of meditation upon the Bible 
after reading it was so fixed. At the foundation of 
his Christian character, was an ardent love for his 
closet. 

Next to his attention to private duties, I would 
rank his affectionate concern for the piety of his 
fellow-professors of religion. There was at Jefferson 
College a small religious society, still in existence, 
bearing the name of the missionary Brainerd. Of 
this he was an active member, and he ever regarded 
it as a means both of profit and influence. But out- 
side of this little band, he exerted no ordinary in- 
fluence upon Christian students. He was especially 
beloved by those who were associated w T ith him in 
the support of Sabbath Schools and prayer-meetings, 
for he was naturally more with them. And as from 
the very first his was a missionary spirit, so those 
brethren both at Canonsburg and Princeton, whose 
minds turned towards the great field whitening to 
the harvest, were his peculiar companions. There 
was one room at Canonsburg that was the place of 
many a conference for the land of Sinim, and many 
a prayer that it might be opened to the heralds of 
salvation. And there are brethren in China and 
India, and I believe in heaven too, who will long 
remember room No. 29, in Princeton Seminary, 
hallowed as it has been by conference, by tears and 
prayers. I scarcely know one whose influence upon 
the piety of the institutions, both at the College and 
the Seminary, was more consistent and healthful 
than his was. 

His influence w r as also exerted over those who 
made no profession of religion. He was deeply 
impressed with the truth, that to every young man 
the period of College life was the golden opportu- 
nity to secure salvation, or to strengthen pious hab- 
its and a pious character. He was well aware, 
also, of the many insidious and dangerous snares 
which beset those who are so early in life set free 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 397 

from the restraints and the wholesome discipline of a 
parent's control. Many a time has he expressed 
deep anxiety on learning that some interesting and 
inexperienced youth had taken his boarding in dan- 
gerous company 

Worthy of notice, also, are his zeal and devotion 
to improve opportunities for usefulness. The Sab- 
bath School at Miller's Run, where he attended 
church, and of which he was superintendent, was 
about six miles from Canonsburg. Under his con- 
trol it was a thriving and most interesting school. 
Accompanied by a band of affectionate teachers, 
his fellow-students, he went to the school, sus- 
tained meetings for exhortation and prayer, visited 
the sick, and was ever welcome to the firesides 
and the tables of an attached people. Beyond doubt, 
there are precious souls in that congregation, who 
retain the sweet savour of his memory. They will 
remember the crowded prayer-meeting, the solemn 
Bible-class, the simple address, and the fact that 
many young persons, almost all from the Sabbath 
School, united w r ith the Church during his sojourn 
with them, as evidence of his influence and useful- 
ness among that people. These labours were a de- 
light to him, though they were toilsome. Often he 
would walk as many as eight miles on Saturday 
evening to hold a prayer-meeting, and return to the 
church on Sabbath morning to the school. 

There remains one other matter which I have in 
lively, and I may add, grateful remembrance, — this 
is his faithfulness in discharging the important but 
unpleasant duty of admonition. I have lying before 
me a letter, which cannot be made public, but which 
is an excellent instance and evidence of his watch- 
fulness over his brethren, and of his kindness and 
prudence to warn and correct. Nor was he less 
ready to receive than to administer reproof. .... 
Yours affectionately, 

J. M. Lowrie. 

34 



398 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

KEMARKS ON THE DEATH OF THE REV. WALTER M. LOWRIE ; 

By the Rev. A. Alexander, D. D. 

The mournful tidings of this disastrous event has 
sent a pang of grief to the hearts of thousands in 
our Church and in our country. The loss of such a 
man, and in such a way, is, indeed, a deplorable 
thing. Christianity was never intended to destroy 
the natural feelings of humanity, but to regulate 
and refine them. In Holy Scripture we find that 
the pious gave free indulgence to their feelings of 
sorrow, on account of the death of good and great 
men. When Abner was treacherously murdered by 
Joab, king David " lifted up his voice and wept at the 
grave of Abner ; and all the people wept. And the 
king lamented over Abner." So, also, when the pi- 
ous king Josiah was slain in the flower of his age, 
" All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah : and 
Jeremiah lamented for Josiah. And all the singing 
men and singing women spake of Josiah in their la- 
mentations." We have, moreover, in the New Test- 
ament an example of the same kind in the primitive 
church at Jerusalem, when Stephen, " a man full of 
wisdom and of the Holy Ghost, was stoned to death 
by the Jews. This man stood conspicuous among 
the disciples of Christ on account of the miraculous 
gifts with which he was endowed, and the holy 
boldness and eloquence with which he defended the 
truth, for " being full of faith and power, he did 
great wonders and miracles among the people. And 
his enemies were unable to resist the wisdom and the 
irit by which he spake." But when confounded in 
i-gument, they had recourse to violence, and cast 
trim out of the city and stoned Stephen, calling on 
God, and saying, "Lord Jesus receive my spirit." 
And he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice, 
"Lord, lay not this sin to their charge;" and when 
he had said this, he fell asleep. "And devout men 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 399 

carried Stephen to Ms burial, and made great la- 
mentation OVER HIM." 

Here we find, that in the early infancy of the 
Church, good and useful men were suffered by di- 
vine providence to be cut off, when their services 
were more needed than they could be at any future 
time. God would teach us that he is not dependent 
on any instruments for the accomplishment of his 
purposes. The death of Stephen, probably, had a 
mighty effect on the minds of many who were pres- 
ent; and from among his bitterest enemies, there 
was one whom God had determined to make "a 
chosen vessel" to carry the Gospel not only to the 
Jews, but to a multitude of the Gentile nations. 

And we learn from this part of Sacred Scripture, 
that God does not forsake his devoted servants, 
when surrounded by enemies, and while suffering 
the agonies of death. Stephen saw heaven opened 
and the Son of Man standing at the right hand 
of God. And he was enabled to die in the full as- 
surance of hope ; and, with his last breath, to imi- 
tate his divine Master, by invoking mercy for his mur- 
derers. And although we are not permitted to 
know in what state of mind our dear young brother 
met death, we have good reason to conclude that 
his covenant God did not forsake him in that trying 
hour. Very likely his last breath was spent in 
prayers for the salvation of his murderers. 

That the death of Mr. Lowrie is a great loss to 
the Church, and particularly to the cause of mis- 
sions, none will doubt. Religiously educated from 
his youth, and in a family imbued with the mission- 
ary spirit, he early turned his thoughts to the con- 
dition of the blinded, perishing heathen. With 
this object in view, he commenced his theological 
education. During his whole course, it is believed, 
his purpose remained unshaken ; and all his plans 
and studies were prosecuted with a direct view to 
this object. Possessed of a vigorous and well-bal- 
anced mind, and of cheerful, equable temper, his 



400 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

progress in learning was rapid, and what he acquired, 
he retained. With him no time was wasted, for 
even his hours of relaxation from severe study 
were spent in some useful employment. 

He was willing to encounter all the dangers of 
the deleterious climate of Africa, and would have 
made that dark region the field of his labours, had 
it not appeared to all his friends that he was emi- 
nently qualified for the China mission, that great 
country having unexpectedly been opened for the 
preaching of the Gospel. Our young brother ac- 
cordingly embarked for that important field ; but 
before his station was finally chosen, he met with 
extraordinary difficulties and dangers. In one of 
his voyages he was ship-wrecked ; the vessel was 
abandoned at sea, and the crew and himself were 
exposed to a rough sea, in an open boat, for many 
days ; and when they approached the shore, were, 
by a manifest interposition of Providence, enabled 
to land, when at almost any other time their boat 
must have been swamped. 

After his arrival in China, he devoted himself as- 
siduously to the acquisition of the very difficult 
language of the country; and there is reason to be- 
lieve with uncommon success. But not contented 
merely to acquire the language, he deemed it very 
important to make himself acquainted with the 
literature, and especially with what may be termed 
the classical literature of the Chinese. From com- 
munications received in this country, there is reason 
to think that he was making rapid progress in this 
species of knowledge. 

Besides the acquisition of the provincial dialect 
of Mngpo, where he had his station, he had formed 
the purpose of learning the Manchu Tartar lan- 
guage, which differs from that of China in that an 
alphabetical character is used ; and it is understood 
that this is becoming more and more popular, and 
from its superior convenience, will probably prevail. 
From these and other considerations it is evident 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 401 

that our Church and the cause of missions has exr- 

ferienced a great loss in the death of Mr. Lowrie. 
t ought to be mentioned, also, that with other mis- 
sionaries, he was, when called away, earnestly en- 
gaged in revising and correcting the version of the 
New Testament into the Chinese tongue. For this 
work he was eminently qualified by his learning, 
'and by his nice discrimination and turn for accuracy 
in matters of this kind. When sent for to Mngpo, 
he had been for between two and three months at 
Shanghai, engaged with Bishop Boone, Dr..Bridg- 
man and others in this work. 

It is, then, neither unreasonable nor unscriptural 
that great lamentation should be made on account 
of his death. Though none can be expected to 
experience the same kind and degree of grief as 
his venerable father and near kindred, yet many 
others deeply sympathize with them in their lamen- 
tations ; and it may be presumed none have felt 
this stroke more pungently than his brethren of the 
mission. To them the bereavement is indeed great 
and lamentable. But this feeling is not confined to 
the missionaries of the Presbyterian church; others 
will feel sorely that a heavy judgment has fallen 
upon them. This is manifest from the affectionate 
and excellent letter of Bishop Boone to Mr. Low- 
rie's father. He says : " This event has thrown 
my family, who had the privilege to enjoy his 
company for the last two months and a half, into 
the deepest affliction. Dearly as I know he was be- 
loved by the mission with which he was connected, 
et, I believe, no one in China mourns his loss as 
do." And no doubt the same feeling pervades the 
whole of the missionaries who have had any oppor- 
tunity of acquaintance with our departed brother. 
We may, therefore, lament the death of such a 
man, so beloved, and so well qualified to be useful 
in the most important work which is going on in 
this world. But though we are permitted to sorrow, 
yet not to repine. When Aaron's impious sons 



I 



402 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

were struck dead in the sanctuary, "he held his 
peace ;" he uttered no complaint. And when Eli 
heard the prophet's prediction respecting the judg- 
ment about to be inflicted on his wicked sons, he 
said, " It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him 
good." Perfect submission is consistent with the 
most heart-felt sorrow. Indeed, the deeper the 
grief, the more virtuous the submission. 

This event, I think, is a solemn call of Provi- 
dence to our whole Church. It is evidently a token 
of the displeasure of our heavenly Father. God, by 
thus taking away one of the most eminent of our 
missionary corps, evidently calls the Presbyterian 
church to a solemn consideration of their ways ; to 
an earnest inquiry whether, as a body, we have done 
our duty; and especially in relation to China. Some 
twenty years ago, the writer heard a speaker at a 
missionary meeting in Philadelphia, say, " If a hun- 
dred missionaries should now enter China, at differ- 
ent points, and every one of them should immedi- 
ately be put to death, this would be a cheap sacrifice, 
if thereby that populous country should be opened 
for the preaching of the Gospel." At that time, the 
most sanguine did not dare to hope for such an 
event in their day. But God, by a wonderful Provi- 
dence, has set the door wide open. Not merely 
one, but five great cities, are made accessible, and 
the right of residence and Christian worship secured 
by treaty. In consequence, a number of the most 
promising and best educated men offered their ser- 
vices, and were sent. But did the Church appre- 
ciate the importance of this extraordinary dispensa- 
tion of Providence? Did she arouse herself from 
her long sleep, and come to the help of the Lord 
against the mighty; did she enlarge her spirit of 
liberality, and begin to wrestle with God in fervent, 
incessant prayer for this empire, which contains one 
third of the population of the globe ? She did not. 
Had it not been for the generous donation of a few 
individuals; the Board would not have been able to 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 403 

send out the promising men who offered. And even 
now, there exists a general apathy. A few churches 
and a few individuals seem to be sensible of the 
solemn, responsible circumstances in which we who 
live in this age are placed. Professors of religion 
are too generally occupied with their own concerns ; 
every one is attending to his farm or his merchan- 
dise ; few have any deep feeling for the ark of God. 
Each one will build and decorate his own house, 
while the house of God is desolate. 

Let the churches, then, consider this awful dis- 
pensation, as one in which they have a deep con- 
cern. Let the solemn inquiry be made in all our 
churches, and through all our borders, whether they 
have not been delinquent in their duty to the mis- 
sionaries in China. Yea, let every individual ask 
himself, Have I done my duty? Have I remem- 
bered daily, as I ought, those devoted men ? Have 
I borne them feelingly on my heart to the throne 
of grace ? Have I given as liberally of my sub- 
stance to promote this object as I ought? Such 
inquiries, honestly made, would, I believe, bring con- 
viction home to almost every bosom. What, then, 
shall be the result? Having done amiss, is it our 
solemn purpose, by the help of the Lord, to do so 
no more ? Let us, then, take words and return unto 
the Lord who hath smitten us. " Let the priests 
weep between the porch and the altar, and let them 
say, Spare thy people, Lord." 

If it should please our heavenly Father to make 
this distressing bereavement the means of awak- 
ening all our churches to the solemn considera- 
tion of their duty, as it relates to missions in 
general, and to China in particular, then will this 
sore judgment be turned into mercy. Let all the 
friends of Zion wrestle with God until he grant this 
result. Let them say, " For Zion's sake I will not 
hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not 
be silent, until the righteousness thereof go forth 
as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp 



404 MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 

that burnetii." Such importunity is never offensive. 
Jacob said to the Angel of the Covenant, "I will 
not let thee go until thou bless me." And God 
commands us " to give him no rest, till he establish, 
and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth." 
Let every true Presbyterian resolve that, during the 
year, now commenced, he will bear on his heart be- 
fore the throne of grace, the perishing condition of 
the heathen, and the wants of our foreign mission- 
aries, with far greater frequency and fervency than 
during the year which is past. And, as our mis- 
sionaries may be recalled unless funds are provided 
by the Church for their support, let every man, and 
woman, and child consider whether God does not 
require of them to do much more in the way of con- 
tribution than they have heretofore done; and see 
whether, from the very day from which you com- 
mence a new course, God will not bless you in a 
special manner. " Bring ye all the tithes into the 
storehouse that there may be meat in mine house, 
and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, 
if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and 
pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room 
enough to receive it." Mai. iii. 10. — Missionary 
Chronicle: February, 1848. 



MEMOIR OF WALTER M. LOWRIE. 405 

A cenotaph was erected to the memory of Mr. 
Lowrie, which bears the following inscriptions, partly 
in English and partly in Chinese : — 

THE 

REV. WALTER M. LOWRIE, 

A MISSIONARY 
TO 

THE CHINESE. 



Born Feb. 18th, 1819. 
Died Aug. 19th, 1847. 



I am a stranger in the earth." — Ps. cxix. 19. 



SECOND SIDE. 

IN CHINESE. 

The American teacher of the religion of Jesns, Low-le-wha, Seen Sang, 
[i. e. Mr. Lowrie.] Born in [the reign of] Kea-King, 24th year, 1st 
month, 26th day. Died in [the reign of] Taou-Kwang, 27th year, 7th 
month, 9th day. Reckoning back in [the reign of] Taou-Kwang, the 
22d year, 4th month, 18th day, he arrived at Macao, China. The 25th 
year, 3d month, 5th day, he reached Ningpo ; in order to propagate the 
holy religion. How can we know whether a long or a short life is ap- 
pointed for us ? He had but attained the age of twenty-nine years, 
when travelling by sea, he was drowned by pirates. Of all his associ- 
ates there is none who does not cherish his memory, and they have ac- 
cordingly erected this stone as a testimony of their affection. 



THIRD SIDE. 

He was attacked by pirates near Chapoo, and being thrown overboard, 
perished in the sea. 



FOURTH SIDE. 

IN CHINESE. 

The Holy Book says — It is appointed unto man once to die, and after 
this the judgment, for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the 
graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and shall come forth, they 
that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have 
done evil unto the resurrection of damnation. 

The shaft is 4 feet 6 inches high ; 2 feet 7 inches wide at the bottom, 
and 1 foot 9 inches at the top. The stone is a hard and smooth kind of 
granite, capable of a tolerable polish. 




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